Camp Genocide
Was it the sweet scent of flowers
that made you rip into her
over and over and over again
until she coughed up blood
torn and bruised
as you took turns
torn and bruised
as you took turns
torn and bruised
Camp Liberty
where War Crimes read
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
where young flowers are
soaked in kerosene
and set on fire
where those kinds of bodies
are disposed and decomposed
where American heroes still sing the same old tune
"Mistakes" happen
in the name of freedom
"Incidents" forgotten
in the name of freedom
But that fragrance of flowers
it lingers though
Tell me
Can you smell her?
These words are for Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, the fourteen year-old Iraqi woman who was gang-raped and killed by four GIs. Article 32 hearings are currently taking place at Camp Liberty, a US base in Iraq. See this article by Robin Morgan.
Was it the sweet scent of flowers
that made you rip into her
over and over and over again
until she coughed up blood
torn and bruised
as you took turns
torn and bruised
as you took turns
torn and bruised
Camp Liberty
where War Crimes read
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
where young flowers are
soaked in kerosene
and set on fire
where those kinds of bodies
are disposed and decomposed
where American heroes still sing the same old tune
"Mistakes" happen
in the name of freedom
"Incidents" forgotten
in the name of freedom
But that fragrance of flowers
it lingers though
Tell me
Can you smell her?
These words are for Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, the fourteen year-old Iraqi woman who was gang-raped and killed by four GIs. Article 32 hearings are currently taking place at Camp Liberty, a US base in Iraq. See this article by Robin Morgan.
posted by pomegranate queen at 8/23/2006
9 Comments:
absolultly haunting pq.
(every time I think I have found a new fav poem of yours, you go and put up another one...)
powerful words, thank you PQ.
it's so horrifying and so damn real. I was speechless when I read about it...this particular story (one of many many many more like it) just crushed me...I feel like my words don't even come close to what I wanted to express...
I didn't even know how to express what I felt after reading about this horror.
if you haven't read the article (I've posted the link) then you really should. it just puts my words in context...
may Abeer and her family rest in peace.
hi free....hmmmm...i guess since it's already posted/published online it's already being shared with others, so i don't see why not.
sure, it would be good if those who read the poem know the context (i.e. the article's and the details) but i'm sure you'd be doing that anyway
In case people don't know...Abeer means "fragrance of flowers" - that was the meaning of her name
magnificent
damn--this was poweful and very beautifully written.
so sad. it's depressing to think that in a sense i'm supporting this war. i pay taxes which payed for those weapons that killed al-Janabi and her family, and so many other innocent people who have been murdered. when i think of the war in these terms, i feel so powerless.
That was the ugly truth told through the beauty of poetry.....InshAllah that little girl is safe and happy in Heaven.
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