9/11 TRILOGY
POEM ONE—A VALENTINE FOR THE WESTERN WORLD
Amriya Shelter, Baghdad, Iraq
I awake to hear the news
of one hundred blackened bodies in Baghdad
all the women of a neighbourhood
in a bomb shelter with their children
attacked at night
by our allied forces
one hundred blackened bodies
one man has lost eleven
this is February 13th
today is Ash Wednesday
on the Christian calendar
most of our leaders are Christian?
tomorrow is Valentine’s Day
most of our leaders are lovers?
one hundred blackened bodies
women and children
one man has lost eleven
one man
has lost
eleven…
Post script:
On February 14, 2001 Agence France Presse published Iraq Wants U.S. Tried for War Crimes, stating: a total of 407 people were killed, including 269 women in the Amriya shelter in Baghdad, on February 13, 1991. This shelter, one of thirty-four in Baghdad, has been kept untouched as a memorial.
Franci Louann flouann@telus.net February 13, 1991 after hearing the CBC news
Published at www.poetsagainstthewar.org in early 2003 & on Facebook
Keywords: peace war regret loss memorial military
Franci Louann 