gates of hell

the charming new president
is sending my baby to war

he's already distant
now they're taking him further 
away

at first I refused to believe
but he's not lying
my eyes flood
my throat strangles words
my head echoes
what will I do?
how will I feel?
thank god we don't have a baby
I will be okay
I will be safe

then i step outside my gargantuan ego
and the tears are for he who tells me 
so matter of fact
it's his duty
he must go
not to worry
he will be fine

my grandfathers fought forty years before i was born
i heard stories
i read articles
i saw the grainy footage 
photographs in life magazine
those towers burning and collapsed
now it hits me like it never hit before
in this bleak moment
all wars became real and fearsome

i cry for the brave millions before and now
marching to the gates of hell
into an exploding desert
lonely and wiling to shed their comfort
their blood
their existence
for me

the charming new president will send my love to war
i don't know if it will ever come back
but i know it will never die


--Michelle Margaret, January 2009