by Susan Cameron
The young say stupid things like that. We don't know it's a lie.
Now I’m one successful lawyer; you’re a high-priced lawyer too,
So when our marriage fell apart we knew just what to do.
Our troops assemble in the courts when we call reveille –
The Hessians on the left are yours, the others stand for me.
Our bloody little skirmishes, our combat hand-to-hand,
Has escalated to this point. We take our final stand.
We snarl and scream our orders, and before this war is done,
Our napalm burns our daughter and our shrapnel maims our son.
But we’re blinded by the smoke and we’re deafened by the noise,
And the casualties of war are often little girls and boys.
With murder pounding in my heart I roar a battle cry
And watch the life we’d had blow up as fireworks light the sky.
You call in an air strike, and then I take my turn,
With hands on hips, triumphantly, we watch our bridges burn.
Direct hit on the ammo dump! A satisfying roar –
What we had built went up in smoke. No chance of getting more.
I call in the coordinates – before my rockets land,
Belatedly, I realize Ground Zero’s where I stand.
A sickly light illuminates the ghostly, smoky pall.
The windswept ash floats through the air – I watch hell's snowflakes fall.
copyright 2010 - Susan Cameron
Unfortunately, you hit the nail on the head. Fortunately, mine did not go that way - powerful words, powerful ideas - so sad and so well done. I would have thought you'd been through it.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, love and war. They're never too far apart, are they? Very compelling. Divorce "war" can certainly be a deadly battlefield for everyone involved. Good work, Susie.
ReplyDeleteHasgaard!! This is just SO good. You can do it all--short stories, essays, poetry. You should be writing every single day and sending something off in the mail every single day and you WILL EVENTUALLY BE FAMOUS, RICH, ENVIED, COPIED, INTERVIEWED, ASKED TO BE ON DANCING WITH THE STARS--but mostly you will just be friggin' rich because you are that good.
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