Shock and Awe

Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult one.

~Donald Rumsfeld

Baghdad…
birds build their nests
in smashed houses
it’s the migration season
for people

after curfew,
men in ski masks
visit the neighbors
rib-thin dogs
hunt for food

springtime in Baghdad…
soldiers plug bullet holes
with chocolates
nest-building birds
know nothing of God

suicide video—
her last wish
is for the continuation
of hatred…
changing the channel

third deployment:
tears
cannot be numbered
the nation
goes about its business

stage props
as the president speaks:
flags, banners, signs, soldiers…
which of these things
is not like the others?

the death toll rises
because of us…
because of us
the war is back
above the fold

water finds its way
around and through
all things
even the bodies
in the Tigris River