ghostly banner
I've been working on this for ages, on and off. It had its genesis a couple of
months ago when a Turkish synagogue was bombed. The casualties were mostly Muslims
who just happened to be in the area. Of course, the Iraqi casualties in the
recent Iraqi attacks on American soldiers and the many casualties on both sides in
Israel and Palestine factor in, too.
I see a ghostly banner wave,
Its emblem, crescent twined with star.
And crowding below it, silent shades
Of those who died beneath its thrall.
These are not the zealots, stained
By hatred, souls forever marred.
These never chose a warrior's way
Nor weighed their worth in battle scars.
These are the inadvertent martyrs
To cause and choices not their own,
Killed by foe or killed by "brother"
Killed. Intentions dead, deeds stand alone.
Wrong place, wrong time. Promiscuous shrapnel sails
And one more shade slips through the bannered veil.
Posted by dichroic at December 15, 2003 04:43 PM