We've Said Our Peace

Reaction to a friend losing his son in Iraq.

     We've Said Our Peace

 

 

We're mollified and marginalized,

Held without Habeas Corpus,

Travelling the highways that remain

After being told we cannot fly.

 

You are not surprised, since Orwell

Warned us, that the opiating effect

Of Television has left us numb,

That economic struggles take precedence.

 

A very good friend asked me to censor

Myself for the good of a project.

That project is over, but I wonder

If I should ramble on.  Are any of us free?

 

Bright blossoms stretch under

Loblolly pines as we

Dash from ice to 80 degrees

In war-torn North Carolina. 

 

Larry lost his son.  A career

Mailroom worker over at the I.O.G.*

What can Larry tell his friends and family?

How can we make him feel better?

 

Should we tell him how important

This war is?   When we hug him will

He feels our rage and confusion, or can

We mask it long enough to comfort him?

 

Are there enough folks out there who

No longer take it for granted that

Life as we Americans know it will

Go on like this forever?

 

Youngsters strut in warm sunshine,

Smiling between classes; hungry

For a life that their mothers' created,

That their fathers' fought for:

 

An American life, full of pace,

Full of struggle, catching just enough

From friendships to keep reality at bay.

We've said our peace, but can not

 

Shut up now.  The grand illusion

Is once again upon us: 2004 version.

Nothing changes willingly.  Here's a tear

For those who died in one more American war.

 

 

*Institute of Government, UNC- Chapel Hill