Jon Zerivitz

 

                                                Newsrealtime                       

 

It’s difficult to recall the grit scraped friction of sand in your teeth,
While we gawk from the collective couch; hot-pockets of resistance in our laps.

 

Does this look like yours? Can you watch yourself and pretend not to see?

 

*                             

Peeling dry eyes from the sight, I turn to tell a reporter what I’ve seen.

He has crawled, elbows and knees, up the sandy hill, blue vested and aims

his weapon at my head.

 

*                             

 

Somewhere there is war because we haven’t had one in a while and there is space on our

shelves.

 

Somewhere we are not wanted. Trust us we say, you’ll love us. As if we were ice cream.

As if it was ice cream dropping on desert sands. Uncle Sam and the Good Fucking

Humor Man.

 

Somewhere there is war of words, verbal shrapnel and leaflet bombs left unread.

Whiteflag deception, and antique artillery has rusted our memory.

 

Why are we here?

 

*                             

Sunsmooth and dry, a child, no more than twelve, asks if the water is good. Water good, I

say and give him a drink. He smiles as a veiled woman hurls heavy words I cannot

understand, and pulls him away by his arm.

 

*                             

I stared at a Baghdad intersection for a week, then

I turned it off