Can I pretend to call myself a “spiritual progressive”? I know those who would argue against that proposition, maybe myself among them. In any case, I put my name to this petition asking President Obama to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and for an “International Middle East Peace Conference to impose a final settlement on all parties.” I’m always dubious about such symbolic acts—how many petitions have we all signed since the age of mature awareness?—but poems are symbolic acts, so I consider signing this petition a kind of poetry. Please consider signing it yourself.