1973
There’s always an occupation,
my mother said,
washing dishes I would dry.
Somebody always thinks they need
to sit in somebody else’s house.
What do you know about an occupation?
You’re in the Air Force, not the Army.
You have no training to stand
between two nations at war.
You barely know how to handle a rifle.
Dad says you’re a good shot, but that’s rabbits,
and the rabbits aren’t shooting back at you.
I’ll tell you a secret. Chocolate.
In World War II and after,
chocolate brought better goodwill
between the Germans and non-Germans
than anything else.
It had the power to lower weapons,
to stop bullets, to slow
the speeding trains of war.
You think about that
before you get on the plane
to stand between Israeli’s and Egyptians and Lebanese.
Being a Christian or an atheist means nothing,
and maybe worse than nothing.
I want you to think about hummus.
The Israelis and Egyptians and Lebanese love hummus.
They have jokes about who makes the best, contests.
Offer hummus to this side and that side.
Carry a tin of hummus and maybe some bread or crackers.
Offer it to both sides to make friends.
And then leave. When the hummus
has done its work, just leave.
You don’t need to occupy where people live
if they get along over food.
Jeff Burt writes as a form of secondary expedition, after having taking the first expedition on foot.
The Marbled Sigh 