On the Road to Basra
A Kasen Renku
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Sandstorm
a tank meets a horse and cart
on the road to Basra
|
paul c |
|
high above Hyde Park
Palestine's flag as a kite
|
sprite
|
mother earth
bruised every shade
of crocus
|
sheila |
the patriotic thing
what would Jesus do?
|
melisande |
night vision . . .
flares burst into
fluorescent moons
|
doris
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they wave good-bye
beneath the yellow maple
|
penny
|
|
unexpected casualties
as if a red carpet
should have greeted them
|
paul d m |
blood blood blood
and oil
|
melisande |
day one, day two,
day three, day four,
day five . . .
|
benita |
no peace--I'm always
running behind
anyway
|
doris
|
entering another installation
i wish it were
the weapons inspectors
|
benita |
rumours of a heat wave
in the Sea of Serenity
|
sprite
|
someone explains
the difference between friendly
and unfriendly fire
|
paul c |
factored into the equation
spilled milk
|
doris |
robins' songs
drowned out all day
by war talk
|
bill |
nearby a surging river
carries blossoms seaward
|
carmen
|
my daughter asks me:
should she reconsider
her year abroad?
|
paul d m |
another generation branded
by an excess of
violence
|
sprite |
|
"war for peace"
behind the curtain a smile
of revenge
|
carmen |
a slow walk through
the maze to the core
|
sprite
|
don't the Christians
feel odd, after all,
Allah is God
|
melisande |
no room at the inn
for my pregnant wife
|
penny
|
church on the hill
a Japanese prays
to stop the war
|
carmen |
his thoughts drift
into a world of snow |
sheila
|
storm clouds
above the bare trees
the size of my fist |
paul d m
|
dinner tastes like plastic
yet tomorrow the banks trade
|
benita
|
in the good old days
we delegated clerks to count
goat for the halal kill
|
benita
|
she sees him fall into
the deep window of time
|
bill
|
this crescent moon
clear over
the smoke
|
penny
|
hot days and cold nights
tracer bullets
|
paul c |
|
bomb after bomb
ashamed to show
my American face
|
carmen |
which gas mask
masks her son?
|
penny
|
Oscar night
I want to thank the Academy
for nothing
|
paul d m |
|
soldiers pull down a statue
in the spring sunshine
|
paul c
|
flower children
now called on again
to fill the streets
|
bill |
a placard where
her schoolbag used to be
|
sheila |