What They Could Not Take With Them

Petry-Anderson 23 Maxine S. Petry-Anderson What They Could Not Take With Them "Flying birds away into endless spaces Ranged hills all autumn colours again. I go up Huatzu Hill and come down— Will my sadness never come to its end?" Wang Wei, "Huatzu Hill" We knew they would come in their green trucks to "relocate" us, to put us behind barb wire like the Jews were. They took everything—our jobs, homes, and freedom. We would not be needing them in the camps. Most of us lived in the United States all our lives, but we were the wrong skin color and our eyes were too much like almonds. Somehow everyone knew it would happen. Some packed days before. But our sons went to fight for them. Many of our sons died. We could only take a few possessions, what was essential, no more. I couldn't decide what to take or leave behind. I stuffed my red plaid suitcase with clothes and photos. I couldn't take all my books. I would have to leave my pigeons also, the ones my family had kept since as long as I knew. I could not. What would they do with them? Set them loose to starve and pick at garbage? Be pelted with rocks by children? Be used for hunting practice? I took each one 24 the minnesota review by the throat, warm and cuddling to my touch, and twisted their necks until they snapped, each dropping to the coop floor, strangely, without a sound. The military men didn't understand, thought I was mad, but I did not explain. LEFT CURVE No. 11 FILM, CULTURE, POLITICS: A Viewfrom Hungary, Interview with Gyorgy Szomjas, Introduction by C. Polony. "Magic of Disorder" by Akos Szilágyi. HAITI 1986: DANCING ON A VOLCANO (poetry & images from Haiti) by. The Jacques Roumain Cultural Brigade. RECENT WRITING BY SARAH MENEFEE. LIFE OF THE AUTOMOBILE, An Itnagistic Theatre Presentation , Adaptors Notes by R. G. Davis with Maria Gilardin. ART & POLITICS OF ELIZAM ESCOBAR: An Introductory Note by C. Polony; "Notes on the Discourse ofArt and its Politics" by Elizam Escobar; Artas an Act ofLiberation; "The Case ofElizam Escobar, Prisoner of War, and the Struggle for Puerto Rican Independence ;" THEATRE—MONTAGE by Bob Feldman; THE EYE GALLERY & PHOTOGRAPHY by Tom Ferenz; MISC. WORKS, NOTICES, ETC. (POETRY by Jack Hirschman, Mila D. Aguilar, PJ. Laska, Fritz Hamilton; ARTWORK by Susan Schwartzenberg , Doug Minkler, Nancy Buchanan, Frank Garvey, Xchange TVby Martha Wallner, etc.). $5/copySubs.:$15 (3 issues) $20 (Institutions) PO Box 472 OAKLAND, CA. 94604 ...