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TO A DEAD IRAQI BOY
Yesterday you were laughing,
and playing with your sister
You knew nothing about war,
You knew only, that you loved
your sister, and your parents,
and your grandparents, and of
course , your dog .
You were free , you were alive
You were gleefully chasing your
sister in the open field,
when you heard the planes.
OH , DANNY BOY ~ THE PIPES, THE PIPES ARE CALLING
You looked up squinting into the sun
When you heard the first bomb,
you began to run towards your home,
aware of your mother screaming your name .
You never made it .
FROM GLEN TO GLEN AND DOWN
THE MOUNTAIN SIDE
You were torn and shredded by an illegal
cluster bomb, dropped by an illegal invading
force, fighting an illegal war .
Conveniently swept,
under a rug of
debris, called
Collateral Damage .
THE SUMMERS GONE AND ALL THE ROSES FALLING
IT'S YOU, IT'S YOU ~ MUST GO AND I MUST BIDE
Sleep peacefully little boy,
I will take your outstretched hand,
I will give you life with my words
For only poetry can strike deep enough
to give you breath again
For only poetry can join your innocent
heart with ours .
Perhaps these next words, from Alice Walker
will touch the hearts of your
perpetrators.
BUT COME YE BACK WHEN SUMMERS IN THE MEADOW
Thousands of feet below you
There is a a small boy
running from your bombs.
If he were to show up
at your mothers house
on a green Sea island
off the coast of Georgia
He'd be invited in for dinner.
OR WHEN THE VALLEYS HUSHED AND WHITE WITH SNOW
Now, driven , you have
shattered his bones .
He lies steaming in
the desert
In fifty or sixty
or maybe one hundred
oily, slimy bits.
IT'S I'LL BE HERE IN SUNSHINE ~ OR
IN SHADOW
If you survive and return
to your island home
and your mother's gracious
table
where the cup of loving
kindness overflows
the brim
( and from which no one
in memory was ever
turned )
Gather yourself.
Set a place
for him.
OH DANNY BOY, OH DANNY BOY ~ I LOVE YOU SO. | 
