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Boom
Bust
My home--now a refugee camp. Friends from the south come and go, their small
children, coughing and grey, sleep on the floor
protected by the ghost of
a Christmas tree.
the smell of death is everywhere.
I am afraid as I was when, I left my home at age 9 to go to school
my mom weeping her upper west side tears, afraid that Kruschev would
bomb us to death and Castro would laugh at our graves.
I am afraid that my president wants me 'dead or alive,'
I am afraid that my country has turned to blood for solace
I am afraid that I breathe asbestos for breakfast
I am afraid that the endless war of 1984 will be the path of my life from now on
I am afraid that a clear blue sky will be a memory
I don't care about Bin Laden
I care about Aladdin
I care about the children of Nablus who cheer as the towers fall about us
I care for them and hope they are safe and grow healthy and strong
For if they do not
War will surely be endless.
Rubble, the new architecture of arrogance.
My friend's son plans to test his 17 years by traveling from Madrid to Katmandu
My friend's sister had a husband 'til the plane he was in flew into the South Tower
My friends, all of my friends I need you now.
History is context.
We must write our own history.
We must not allow fools to scrawl epitaphs on their guns.
©2001, Roland Legiardi-Laura
Roland Legiardi-Laura is a filmmaker and poet, director of the documentary Azul, a study of Nicaragua's people and history through their poetry, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, currently at work on a documentary on the history and purpose of American public schooling.
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