the suppliants

Cane Break

Cane Break

Today I was in a firefight
in a cane break
where the sons of Ali
fled to hide themselves
after they ambushed our patrol.
We went in after them,
knowing full well that Hadji
loves his AK's and high explosives.
He had shot Bennie through the neck
and he died right there on the highway.

And so we unleashed a volley
into the cane break
felling some of the tall green stalks
before we rushed in screaming
and minutes later we dragged out
the shot-up sons of Ali - six dead -
one almost, gibbering curses and suras
as his lungs filled up with blood.
The interpreters didn't let up, no,

until he died right there on the highway.

Spanish-speaking Africa

The Centers of Faith, Hope, and Love denomination with whom we work here in Mexico have been planting churches in Africa in the nation of Equatorial Guinea.  Now I'm sure that unless you're a geography teacher you most likely haven't ever heard of this country, which is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa and, just so you know, despite the word equatorial in its name, the actual equator doesn't even touch.  Nonetheless, it's exactly what you'd expect from about any African nation - it's a sweaty, tropical place run by a military dictator where poverty is rampant, there's hardly any public transport, precious little fresh drinking water and unreliable electrical coverage.  In other words, the perfect place to start planting churches!