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The Long Telegram: Prologue
She's upset, confused, cannot sleep.
Traversing the heavens
hot red words fly and singe her flesh.
Why this sudden change?
Traversing the heavens
she finds her Oracle, singer of wisdom.
"Why this sudden change?
Tell me Oracle, why my friend now stings?"
She finds her Oracle, singer of wisdom,
he with eyes that see the nature of things.
"Tell me Oracle, why my friend now stings
with words that draw blood in one cut?"
With eyes that see the nature of things
the Oracle peeks out at his intruding master.
With words that draw blood in one cut
he grumbles to muddy attention.
The Oracle peeks out at his intruding master.
He's had a really bad week.
He grumbles to muddy attention
as she cranes her head warily at his doorway.
He's had a really bad week.
There's a fever within and without.
As she cranes her head warily at his doorway
he shouts:
"There's a fever within and without --
the reason why you came!"
He shouts:
"It's a wonder it took you this long!"
"The reason why you came --
your friend -- I know her well.
It's a wonder it took you this long --
you, who made it my business to know her."
"Your friend -- I know her well.
How many warnings did I send?
You, who made it my business to know her --
you ignored them all."
"How many warnings did I send?
Thousands or more?
You ignored them all.
Now there's shock and fluster."
"Thousands or more,
the words I now must sing.
Now there's shock and fluster,
the seeds of understanding."
"The words I now must sing --
you asked for it.
The seeds of understanding --
well I'm gonna to give it to you."
"You asked for it."
(It is February 22, 1946 -- 9 p.m.)
"Well I'm gonna to give it to you."
He begins to sing...
-Alex Wong, 6/01
Since this is such a historic poem, I asked Alex what specific event he was referring to. Here's what he sent me:
The background (one of many recountings):
http://www.fsbassociates.com/hmco/operationrollback.htm
Excerpt:
In February 1946, just after Ambassador Harriman had withdrawn, the State
Department and the Treasury sent two modest inquiries to the Moscow embassy
left in Kennan's care. Washington needed an "interpretive analysis" of
recent Soviet statements about international financial institutions, for the
purpose of fashioning American policy. Such inquiries were routine, the
normal format for discussion between a capital and its diplomatic outposts.
What was unusual was that this time the officer responsible for replying was
George Kennan.
After a few days of thought, the chargé d'affaires ad interim decided to seize the opening that had eluded him through all his years of bureaucratic servitude. "Now, suddenly, my opinion was being asked," he wrote, looking back on the moment. "It was no good trying to brush the question off with a couple of routine sentences describing Soviet views on such things as world banks and international monetary funds. It would not do to give them just a fragment of the truth. Here was a case where nothing but the whole truth would do. They had asked for it. Now, by God, they would have it."
At nine p.m. on February 22, Kennan sent a telegram to Washington...
The document:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/documents/episode-1/kennan.htm
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