War Poem (Gulf War I)
And when the war ended
I shoved newspaper piles into
The bottom drawer, hidden
Like so much garbage.
Muted headlines muttered over
Pilots taken prisoner, GI's
Sweating in dark bunker sand,
A month's worth of bombs
Blooming above Baghdad.
Firework beauty, this war
Of saints versus madmen,
Only who was which
Depended on your blood.
A war to mirror all wars.
The dead paid dear for freedom
While the bleeding grin proud
Beneath fresh scars and flags.