Iraq's Spears

- By M. Junaid Alam

Behold, the army of (shock and) awe!
Spears, swords, canons, cavalry
tipped, tainted, powdered, and pruned
in the arrogance of empire

Here our marauders of Capital come
hurling, slashing, hurtling, galloping
through the gates of unchained history
over natives killed and maimed
fettered to fated misfortune

But the hurried winds of death
herald the rains of revenge

From hated rag-heads spring rag-tagged rebels
unseduced by those siren songs of freedom
hissed by missiles Tomohawk and gunships Apache:
weapons christened by the baptism of genocide

Yes, the statues of Saddam have fallen:
for this, no one sheds a tear

But in the flood of resistance
the idol of white man's burden
worshipped in the White House
and carved by Capital
will also crumble. M. Junaid Alam is a Political Science Major at Northeastern University. He encourages feedback at: junaidalam@msalam.net