i have not been to war

May 16, 2008 - 19:31 PM PST

I have not been to war (to war)
I have not smelled the blackened
flesh of babes held by starving girls
who look to me - to me - for aid.

I have not been to war (to war)
I have not heard the bullets weave
staccato streams and strangers bleed
from gaping holes the former faces
they cry to me - to me - for aid.

I have not been to war (to war)
I have not touched the rutted sand
marked for mass o'erflowing graves
whose numbers beg
- though cold and dead -
whose numbers beg for aid.