Via Basel: On the Surface of it

Art by Fred Tomaselli

On the surface of it,

Boots in neighborhoods, pepper bullets, tear gas.

On the surface of it,

Batons brandished, drivers snatched, zip locked.

On the surface of it,

Child sobbing, Cuando viene mi mama?

On the surface of it,

Millions singing, streets, squares, parks 

Resisting, loving, together.

On the surface of it,

Bombs raining, buildings collapsing, families cowering.

Empire unchecked, horror unleashed, world watching.

On the surface of it,

Mothers wailing, child maimed, infant starved.

Flotilla intercepted, carrying food.

On the surface of it, 

Prisoners released, hostages freed,

Billionaires dreaming of luxury beachside hotels.

On the surface of it,

Independent country invaded, children abducted,

Drones, deaths, underground make shift schools.

On the surface of it,

Fires, ocean side cities, inland forests,

Girls’ camps washed away, no warning.

On the surface of it, 

Mother nature cries out, father sky silent

A pause, remembrance, recollection.

Below the surface, way down,

Ocean deep, stillness.

Beyond the skies, way up,

A vastness, infinite and silent.

Searching, looking, original face

Us, Him, Her, It, All.

Wordsworth said it best:

Our birth is but a sleep and forgetting:

The soul that rises with us, our life’s star,

Hath elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness, 

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God who is our home:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

Below the surface,

Deep in me, you, faith, hope

Resists, persists…endures.

Basel Al-Aswad, father of EIL founder Christopher Al-Aswad, is a yogi trapped in an Orthopedic Surgeon’s body. His loves in life include reading, writing, hiking, enjoying nature, meditation, and spending time with his large Iraqi family; now, semi-retired, he is exploring new avenues in medicine, education, public speaking, teaching, and social engagement.