Michael Bennett

  THE ANGEL OF HISTORY  

  "The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been

  smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise . . ."

       Walter Benjamin, "Theses on the Philosophy of History"

  I

  Always pay attention to

  the man behind the curtain.

  II

  All things that we envy

  are the future.

  III

  Judgment Day's wheat and chaff

  is all wheat.

  IV

  If you would seek out God,

  first feed those who hunger.

  V

  The soft voice of the past

  gets lost in a harsh wind.

  VI

  Even the dead

  are not safe.

  VII

  Every sign of civilization

  is a sign of barbarism.

  VIII

  The revolt could not be put down

  because it never started.

  IX

  The angel of history

  is turned toward the past.

  X

  Sometimes to see ahead

  you must look the other way.

  XI

  Although the planet rotates,

  standing still is standing still.

  XII

  Love of the future inspires change

  less than hatred of the past.

  XIII

  If you think you want perfection,

  just ask Eve and Adam.

  XIV

  The past: a leaping tiger

  stalking the present.

  XV

  Calendars do not measure time

  in theway that clocks do.

  XVI

  My heart stops in the moment

  not in the past or future.

  XVII

  Time is the tasteless seed

  of history's wholesome fruit.

  XVIII

  History is not a rosary bead,

  but instead a constellation.

  (Originally posted: October 26, 2009)

  To contact Michael Bennet send an email to Michael.Bennett@liu.edu