There Has To Be A Child
I walk along
graffiti streaked T-walls
in Baghdad thinking…
there has to be a reprieve
for a heart that shuns
the hatred
there has to be
some crumbs of happiness
leftover here somewhere
some love
some crackling
good-hearted laughter
left here somewhere
to subdue the barking
of the guns
and the stomping
of the boots
the horrors of war
could not have seeped
into all the cracks
of every wall
and every soul
a child somewhere
still remembers
between every
gut wrenching
cry and cry
how to smile.
but, look here!
you see boot prints
on doors kicked
into broken homes
these rooms
their walls are splattered red
they contained the screams
of agonizing men
and yes! the laughter
of maniac terrorizing men
it’s not the laughter I’m looking for
it’s not the laughter I’m looking for
within these T-walls
dividing the city
and garroting the life
out of it
we have achieved peace
and buried the peace
of mind and the sanity
the innocence
the laughter
the love
the tender smile
there has to be
a child somewhere
still remembering
between every
gut wrenching
cry and cry
how to smile.
