on seeing the pictures from Abu Gharib
After a war, a life. A death.
A widow finds
beneath his
folded uniform
and the looted short sword
brought home from Iwo,
a box of ears.
She says he was a good man.
She asks me
what to do with them.
I don't know
what to do with them.
What to do
with any of this.
What any of us
might do.
________
A revision, of course, of this poem. I'm not sure what's going on these days. The second "current events" poem in a week. (The first.)
6 Comments
Yes!!! Yes!!!
This revision is great. It’s simpler and more direct now, especially with the line breaks and shorter stanzas. It reminds me of “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche, but that’s probably just because the image of ears is so strong in both poems.
Thanks!! Thanks!!
I thought maybe a little too stark in this version, but it’s growing on me.
Yes, Forche is a great political poet (God bless her) and “The Colonel” is one of her best. It has spoiled severed ears for the rest of us.
I like this.
What to do with any of this?
All i keep thinking is, repent. Everybody repent.
Maybe they were all “good men” before war.
Do you read this?