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MAXINE KUMIN Extraordinary Rendition Only the oak and the beech hang onto their leaves at the end, the oak leaves bruised the color of those insurgent boys Iraqi policemen captured purpling their eyes and cheekbones before lining them up to testify to the Americans that, no, no, they had not been beaten . . . The beech leaves dry to brown, a palette of cinnamon. They curl undefended, they have no stake in the outcome. Art redeems us from time, it has been written. Meanwhile we’ve exported stress positions, shackles, dog attacks, sleep deprivation, waterboarding. To rend: to tear (one’s garments or hair) in anguish or rage. To render: to give what is due or owed. The pope’s message this Sunday is the spiritual value of suffering. Extraordinary how the sun comes up with its rendition of daybreak, staining the sky with indifference. MAXINE KUMIN ✦ 77 ...

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