the secret language of conflict

From the Navajo Code Book

ARMOR besh-ye-ha-da-di-the
iron protector
BRITAIN toh-ta
between waters
CONVOY tkal-kah-o-nel
moving on water
DIVE BOMBER gini
chicken hawk
GERMANY besh-be-cha-he
iron hat
GRENADE ni-ma-si
potatoes
LIAISON da-a-he-gi-eneh
know other’s action
MINE SWEEPER cha
beaver
OBSERVATION PLANE ne-as-jah
owl
PYROTECHNIC coh-na-chanh
fancy fire


a poem devised from the found poem
this
excerpt from the famous code talkers of the Navajo

dedicated to Chester Nez
who noted before he died at age 93 the odd irony
of being wrenched from his language as a child
in american schools only to be asked to develop
a code tool which aided the american sea efforts
during  WW II....the code was navajo and then some












code talker poem


only
the odd dancer can move in and out
of the fancy fire without getting burnt
the way an owl can fly through thick forest
moving her wing  slightly to miss branches
or the beaver remains mindful of neighbors
and particular trees
there is the wisdom of all sentient life:
know the other's actions
be a liaison for your own survival
eat where you can
       and avoid death

exploding potatoes are percussions of war
thrown by germans and british alike
not even the iron hats protect
once the chicken hawks begin their assault

moving on water has its own peril-
in a sea-sick dream a code talker saw
that he was walking in Britain naked
save for the armour given him
gifts of a phantom convoy
delusions  of an iron protector


           -john hanson osb












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