The Wall in Washington: "A Sense of all"

Vietnam Memorial, Washington D. C., 2010 Photo by Mike Marcellino

A sense of all
by Mike Marcellino

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
of you and me
shells on the beach,
pine cones at Yellowstone.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
memories of songs we loved
revolutions survived.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
now worn down,
most look like India, Africa
So where is Gandhi
and King?
We still need them.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
pastels, holes, linear cracks 
in our unfinished business -
making life just,
not for a few.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
of forts
ancient hideouts.
Where are you now
that we need you?

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
of souls lost;
so, what does it take
to put us
back together?

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces;
we'll be okay, complete
as long as we
don't lose a sense of all.

Copyright Mike Marcellino 2011

Will war ever bring peace?

 "Search & destroy" photo by Mike Marcellino, TET Offensive, Vietnam War, 1968, on a mission with the 23rd South Vietnamese Rangers and U. S. Army 23rd Artillery forward observers.


Will war ever bring peace?
by Mike Marcellino


"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."  -José Narosky, Argentine writer, mostly of amorphisms

I don't know of the war experience of Narosky, or how he came to write this, but the quote is true.


Today is Veterans Day, November 11, 2011.  There hasn't been a calendar day like this since November 11, 1911, before the outbreak of World War I.

Our Veterans Day began as the moment fighting ceased in World War I, 11am, November 11, 1918.  This moment in our history has become known as Veterans Day in America.

This makes today's Veterans Day the calendar moment of 11-11-11-11, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month in the year two thousand and eleven.  You can take this to the craps tables in Las Vegas, but it hasn't brought peace.  We are still fighting in Afghanistan and maintain troops in Iraq and all over the world. 


"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." -George S. Patton, general, U. S. Army, WWII

U. S. Army Soldiers of the 101st Airborne patrol a mountainous village in the rugged Spira mountains in Khost province, along the Afghan-Pakistan Borde.  (Photo David Furst / AFP / Getty Images)

I found this photo on an interesting website started in 1984 to help soldiers from World War II, both Americans and Germans locate the places where they fought.  It's called the US Veterans Contact point and Information Center and was founded in Malmedy, Belgium.  Here's the link to the website for a further look at an interesting project. (Malmedy is well know as the site of the massacre of 71 unarmed U. S. troops by German troops during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.)

Oddly, there hasn't been a date like this for a century, since November 11, 1911.  Since then Americans, patriots, if you will, have fought, died and been wounded in two world wars and wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as excursions into Grenada and Panama, not to mention countless other military interventions. Here is the link to the Wikipedia timeline of United States military operations since 1776:

Timeline of U. S. military operations


While the sacrifice of American soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen, should be honored in deed every day of the year, the list of U. S. military operations is enough to choke a horse. 

We, as a nation, must ask ourselves, to what end? What are we fighting, dying and being maimed for?  Where is the peace?

Some day we should swap our M-16s for shovels and see if that brings peace.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"My Girls" photo by Mike Marcellino, 1968, Vietnam War

Finally, we invite your to listen to our lyrical poetry song recording, "The Walls of Fire," an ode to the sacrifice by American troops from the Civil War to Afghanistan. There's a music player right up top.  If you'd like to "like" us on our Facebook music page here's the link.

Mike Marcellino's artist page on Facebook

Our music website is on ReverbNation where our band is #30 Top Folk Artist on the New York City chart.

Learn about, listen to our music on ReverbNation

"Taipei subway" a song of redemption

Photos Remix Taipei baseball team's new New Era cap (Hatclub.com) (top), cheering Taiwanese baseball fans (st1na.wordpress.com) and Taiwan Metro (axiomdisplay.com)

"Taipei subway," a new single released




Lyrics and vocal:  Mike Marcellino
Music composition: Tomas Texino


Taipei subway marks the 8th single record released in the past year by Mike Marcellino and his band. This latest in a series of avant-garde recordings fusing poetry,  "It's our first full band sound. I just wanted to be up there beating the drums this one," Mike said, about the new record.  "It's also pretty far out, stranger than fiction kind of stuff." The music composition includes acoustic bass, drumkit, acoustic slide guitar, crunch electric guitar, piano and synthwhirl.

You may listen to our new song either on our ReverbNation music site using this link, or the music player at the top of my blog.  We also encourage you to "like" us on our Facebook Musician/Band Page, as well as become a fan here.  There's a music player on our Facebook page too.  

ReverbNation music website 

Facebook Musician/Band Page


A story of "Taipei subway" -  baseball, music and human rights

I wrote "Taipei subway," in 2007 and recorded it with Split Pea/ce, my first band, in Cleveland the next year.  Abe Olvido, a multi-media artist, who liked to create music, was the other half of Split Pea/ce and we performed at clubs and events in Cleveland until 2009.

The song is an offbeat look at Taipei, Taiwan spawned by my wanderings in the city taking a break from a human rights mission I undertook in 1987.  I, along with a representative of former U. S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a liberal activist, and an official of a world Christian church group, accompanied a liberal opposition politician on his return to Taiwan.   Dr Hong Chi-chang was in exile in the United States for his opposition to the oppression and martial law in Taiwan, the longest in world history.  Our mission proved to be successful as the Dr. Hong wasn't killed or jailed but was put on trial.  Tens of thousands of Taiwanese greeted the opposition leader at the airport, after some tense moments when authorities boarded our plane.  As we were landing I would see hundreds of troops, riot police and armored vehicles on the runway.  Since that time, human rights and democracy have progressed and the tension between Taiwan and China have diminished.  I was asked to go on the mission by the Taiwanese leaders in the U. S. who were fighting for human rights and democracy in their home country.

I had first encountered the very active Taiwanese community in Cleveland while I worked as an aide to former Congressman Louis Stokes in 1984 specializing in human rights issues. For four years we worked to end marshal martial law and advance human rights and democracy in Taiwan. Martial law was ended in 1987 but was replaced with a repressive National Security Law by the regime still influenced by Chiang Kai-shek, the nationalist Chinese leader.  Chiang had fled Communist China after World War II to Taiwan, an island off the coast, set up the Republic of China and killed 30,000 Taiwanese intellectuals, educators and artists. Reform began in 1988 and in 2000 an opposition party candidate won the nation's first free election.

As I'm working on a new recording of "Taipei subway," I dusted it off (edited) to share with you.

Taipei  subway
By Mike Marcellino

Another day, night
another mission.
Underground.
White bright light -
Two guys, guitars
singing.
Where?
Taipei  subway.

Two guys, guitars
singing.
Where?
Taipei subway.
There.
Nowhere.
Nobody there.
Taipei subway
twins
Taipei  subway
twins.

Another day, night
underground.
White bright light -
Pictures
in dark
4 color corners
4 color
4 color.
Taipei subway
twins.

Another day, night
underground.
White bright lights.
White bright lights -
They weren’t
supposed to be
there.
Somewhere.
Anywhere;
Early commuters,
appearing
in a tunnel
of white tile walls.
On another mission.
Sent by God,
the old Taiwanese man said.
Taipei subway.
Taipei subway
twins.

Down below
runways filled with troops,
tanks, fire trucks
rows and rows of riot police
rigid
behind their plastic shields.
Tense moments, without warning;
authorities in plain clothes
board our jet from Tokyo.
Chaos in customs
tens of thousands,
cheering throngs
greeting him,
me, shooting pictures
in a scene
from Lord Jim.

Another day, night
underground.
White bright lights -
Taipei subway,
subway.
Two guys, guitars
singing.
Where?
There.
Nowhere.
Taipei subway
to a night game
of the
The Taipei Subway Twins
4 color,
4 color,
4 color.

Copyright  Mike Marcellino, 2007/2011