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This is from America Held Hostile at http://www.americaheldhostile.com/ed033103-2.shtml. I ask your indulgence in my posting my own poem, as I hope it will touch some feelings about "those who don't count."/Lisa Second Son by Lisa Walsh Thomas She remembers, this old woman whose first son burned in the bomb shelter last time -- She remembers, this old woman gone dull gray now, the dirt on her second son's face. No God in heaven had meant a pretty girl to be old, not at forty. Two sons, not enough to steal a small flower... But never mind: There is no soap. There is no cleanser. Her husband was given a gun, will stop the invaders. Not now, though. This is the market for the best, the reddest fruits. Once, she bought him a red pear here. Today there are no baskets, no stalls for the broken oranges, just human parts, fingers reaching for soap or lamb, maybe a torn fig, or soap to clean the dirt from a son's face. He's only a boy, twelve, feet still small. She clapped when he took steps before his first birthday. A bright one, he would be -- his father said it -- maybe an athlete, but now she needs soap for her bright one. Soap. Nothing but soap. He had no enemies, this smart one who walked so young, no betters, just a brother who could run faster, legs trapped, buried in a bomb shelter. She forgets late at night: Where is the first one? Now she bites her finger, tastes blood, hears the awe of hot breath, this old woman confused anew by a severed hand in the marketplace, lying in the dirt, a lone hand with fingers gripping twisted metal. No one hears her silent wail. It, the hand, is familiar, as if it will roll toward her, as if it had once known her. Where is the other one? The other hand would make life whole again. The imbalance of a singular hand gripping metal makes the marketplace a dream like a cabbage with no leaves. Silly old woman, her bright one needs soap. He is good with mechanical things, Can repair almost anything, even at twelve, so bright, his dark eyes able to put things together before his hands move... He must be cleaned now, wiped of blood His soul has fled the desert God wants his body cleansed. -------------------------------------- Lisa is an award-winning poet with dozens of poems published over the years in a wide variety of books and journals. This is her first anti-war poem. Lisa can be reached at saavedra1979@yahoo.com -------------------------------------- Copyright 2001-2003 AmericaHeldHostile.com. All rights reserved. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk