« May 13, 2004 | Main | May 17, 2004 »
May 14, 2004
Abu Ghraib
We like to bomb from 30,000 feet,
fly back to Whiteman, MO after the run,
then drive to the mall for something to eat,
Or wire funds to the guys who buy the guns
that jab into the backs of old women
who stagger away from burning homes.
We don’t do firing squads, rape rooms, mass graves,
midnight arrests; we think we don’t know how.
A GI is a big buzz-cut guy who saves
The cowering victims of a foreign war,
or despotism, or incompetence.
We can even oust regimes from afar.
Dick and Lynne, in the VP’s residence,
once more shoulder the burden to maintain
security, order, and common sense.
They’re grandparents with degrees, guardians
of churches, agencies, and industries:
they know just how to handle ruffians.
Saddam built his own Lubyanka, grim and dank.
Isaiah asked: "How hath the oppressor ceased?"
The new commandant of Abu Ghraib’s a Yank.
And Babylon shall be as Sodom and
Gomorrah; by her shall we sit and weep.
Posted by peterlevine at 8:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack