Viper Lies Coiled They lie in wait.

They are driven by a desire to rid the world of the unfamiliar, to eliminate those who tread a different path. Desire for fulfilment of their vision leads to unimaginable destruction. As each act is carried out the air splinters and then shatters as other dreams explode.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A bomb has exploded during a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, killing 11 people. The chief constable of Northern Ireland has said he has no doubt the bomb was the work of the IRA. the country's third largest giant Buddha statue has been reduced to rubble alongside another famous statue depicting Buddha with his foot on a calf on the orders of the country's Taliban government. The fundamentalist Taliban authorities had ruled that the statues were anti-Islamic. In a separate move, the Taliban ordered the slaughter of 100 cows to atone for what it called the "delay" in destroying the statues. Godwin Lawson, 17, was knifed in the heart as he was attacked "suddenly and without warning" by a group of four men, the Old Bailey was told. The killers - thought to be involved in a postcode war - were lying in wait when he returned to see his family in Enfield on Friday. terrorists invaded a Church as the Holy Mass was set to begin, killed the priest and held the worshipers hostage for four hours. It ended with at least 52 dead, others injured, and our brothers and sisters in Iraq devastated. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijack four passenger airlines, flying three of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. The fourth crashed into a field near Pittsburgh. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good bring good things out of the good stored up, and the evil bring evil things out of the evil that is stored. Matthew 12:34 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Viper lies coiled, taut and sleek. Black skin glistens in the rising sun. Beady eyes are ever watchful waiting. Vipers eyes never blink, never fade, they are always scanning the horizon and will only see victims. Viper does not question or wonder, simply obeys. The wind dances around the leaves, tiny flowers bob with joy in the

warming air as the sun blesses the earth. An impish breeze spins round the whirling planets high above and they twinkle and shine. But viper does not see. Viper has a duty to perform and will wait for the correct time. Fangs full of venom, jaws aching to feel a stretch, a stab, a victory. Black coils on dark earth. Mouse patters, feet light and pink; body fleshy soft and warm. Mouse has bright, searching eyes, quivering whiskers and a playful soul. Mouse looks and wonders and finds good things amongst the gentle green grass. Fur softly shines in the warming rays. Viper tightens, eyes narrow. Mouse gaily explores the grassy plain unaware, nave and trusting. Viper is ready; venom is dripping from needle fangs. Pitter-patter, clench, lunge and streak of black against green grass. Furry skin is pierced and infused with death. Bright, questioning eyes fade with fear and confusion. Mouses alert body twitches in final gasps for life. Viper is satisfied. "You are not like me and must die." Viper lies coiled; sleek black body on dark earth and waits. The sun rises higher. A sailor blue sky forms a colourful gateway to the heavens. The green grass rustles and then parts in obedience. Fleeing figures escape a sinuous, gliding body. Colours flutter in panic, tiny feet scramble for darkness. Leaves whisper urgently to one another Black Snake is moving - beware! Viper watches as Black Snake comes near but does not tense in expectation. Viper yearns to strike, but knows the rules. "Black Snake is of my tribe and must be allowed to pass unharmed." And dripping venom stays in vipers mouth, the taste as bitter as gall. The sun climbs higher; the planets dance their endless waltz, warmed by a wind so gentle and so vital it buffets and teases their rocky hearts. The soul of the earth sighs a longing sigh and life goes on. Mouses body cools against the warming dark earth. A burst of song suddenly brightens the air. It is beautiful, lyrical, ascending to heights and plummeting to depths. The song stirs the weary in their dark recesses and brings a tingle of joy to every sense. If the song were a painting it would explode with colour and pure delight. Nymph forms would flutter across blue pools and rest their fairy heads against cool shells while rainbows twinkle above. This is a song for the earth, for the planets, for all that has life. Who is singing such a wonderful song? Viper only hears an approach of a victim. Bird strides through the plain, head thrown back to expose a pulsating throat. Out of birds strong beak bursts forth its heavenly song. Bird is brightly coloured, with a stately tail and long, powerful legs. Bird struts proudly and sings with tremendous energy. The air shivers and brims to

overflowing with magical notes. Viper is stirred to a fury and strikes, leaping from coils to an arrow-like form. Viper shoots through the air and sinks needle fangs into birds exposed throat. Venom fires through feathery skin. The song stops in mid flow. Birds legs begin to crumple and falter and the colourful body slowly collapses. Birds heart gradually stops beating as pain gives way to death. Silence falls over the plain. The breeze ceases playing with the planets, the leaves no longer chatter and the sun burns with a dead heat. Viper settles again, coiling with precision. "All who are not like me must die." Mouse and bird lie side by side, the result of duty well done. The sun marches on, but with a sombre heart, and is glad to sink lower in the sky. In the cool of the evening a change comes over the plain. Great Creature is walking. Great Creatures hair streams amongst the heavens and wraps around the frozen planets. They begin to slowly whirl again, awoken from their reverie by gentle caresses. The playful wind softly stirs swirls of dust. Great Creature is full of contentment and talks to the leaves and they begin to gently flutter. Great Creature smiles as they chatter and is glad to hear their stories. Great Creatures hands cradle the bobbing flowers, delighting in their simple beauty. The bobbing flowers have no need to fear. Great Creatures eyes take in the vast reaches of the land and joy abounds. Great Creature begins to dance and the plain is a stage for expression so exuberant the underground rivers thunder in their stony caverns, roaring and whooshing in accompaniment. Only the dark earth is silent. The bodies of bird and mouse lie together, bound in deathly stillness. Great Creature bends down and lifts them to moist lips. "Oh woe! Who did this to such bright and lovely things?" Great Creatures eyes fill with tears and wash down over feather and fur. Contentment transforms to fathomless sorrow. Great Creatures heart is breaking. Viper watches and tenses. "You are certainly not like me, your death must occur at my command." Great Creature slowly lays bird and mouse onto dark earth, as is the way. The boughs of the trees bend in respect. Great Creature moves silent lips as earth accepts what must be done. Viper is more than ready; fangs are bursting with rich poison. With one leap viper sinks death needles into Great Creatures hand, pumping venom deeper and deeper into soft flesh. Again and again viper jabs, all that are not like me must die!

Great Creature wraps strong fingers around vipers writhing body. Vipers head jerks in attack and tail whips in fury. Vipers body swells and venom streams from death fangs. Thin daggers stab and pierce soft flesh, but Great Creature is strong. Great Creature lifts viper high towards the blood-red setting sun and Great Creatures hair flies in the panicked breeze. Great Creatures back is taught, there is no crumpling spine, no fear of heart, no confusion of mind. Great Creature will not flee. Viper feels the suns heat on dark, scaly skin. Viper and Great Creature look into each others eyes. Great Creature sees in Vipers beady orbs all that is fearful. Hate, duty and precision seep from a dark, enclosed centre. Vipers heart is cold as steel and Vipers mind is constrained by laws so dreadful the creatures of the plain quake and tremble. Viper sees in Great Creatures eyes the vastness of mystery ever unfolding. Viper sees immensity of delight in proportions so immense that a rigid heart cannot withstand the heavenly vision. Viper cannot see familiar things. Neither prisons of hate, nor laws of fear have a home in Great Creature's soul, only compassion and a yearning for life. Shimmering rays of light stream from Great Creature's eyes and strike chords so sweet the world quivers. A strange feeling seeps through vipers body as energy drains away. Steel gives way to velvet and prisons to clouds of dewy scent. Darkness recedes. Slowly Viper draws spent fangs back into fleshy sheaths. The lashing body hangs limp. Rigidity succumbs to a fusion of light, colour and sound. Great Creature softly lays viper down onto dark earth, exposing the pale underbelly to the warmth of the last rays of sun and the soft caress of the playful wind. Vipers head rests on a pillow of green grass. Vipers eyes see the world from a new place. Viper sees the upside down towering trees and the bobbing flowers, the whirling planets and whispering leaves. Viper is distracted from duty and for the first time ever, Viper wonders. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The mother of a schoolboy stabbed to death for giving a teenager a "dirty look" last night said she forgave her son's killer. She said: "I don't feel anger. I forgive Joseph for what he did. Forgiveness is part of the healing process. To be consumed by hate and revenge achieves nothing. I want to remember Martin for the beautiful person he was, and I don't want this to be clouded by hate. In 1987 the Poppy Day explosion in Enniskillen killed 11 Protestant civilians as they gathered on Remembrance Day; Gordon Wilson and his daughter Marie, who was a nurse aged 20, were buried in rubble by the explosion. He survived and she did not. His TV broadcast account of lying in the debris holding her hand was one of the most poignant and affecting moments of the quarter-century of Irish troubles. He will go down in Irish history as the man who, after his daughter's death, recounted that her last words to him

were: "Daddy, I love you very much." And he summoned the strength of character to add: "She was a great wee lassie. She was a pet, and she's dead. But I bear no ill-will, I bear no grudge." As systems of meaning and interpretation religion and culture require sympathetic and systematic attention from practitioners of conflict resolution. Yet forgiveness belongs to neither religion nor culture. (Forgiveness In International Politics). On the Serb side and the Croat side, the worst people I had to deal with were the ones who took on the most religious trappings. Im not talking about clergy, but the actual criminals, the guys with the guns in their hands. (William Stueber in The Bosnian Experience). Now that youve told your story, are you willing to forgive? And this victim, an older woman, said, Archbishop Tutu, I respect your commission very much. I think you are doing very important work. But you cannot forgive me, and I am not ready to forgive. I think that the commission learned over time that forgiveness is a very individual and personal process. (The Experiences of the Truth Commission). He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven. (George Herbert)