I Am the Pristine

I am the pristine
and fruitful
you say god made me and was happy
today he and i sat watching the sunrise

and told each other of our families

he sat in a woven-plastic folding chair

which his skin stuck to

and i fashioned my seat

from a swirling of my twig fingers

and a kiss of river water

North

find a blink to sit

and adore with me the magic just beyond our cabin

draped in white cotton god cloths

from these ancient pines

they cherish the secrets the wind is telling them

you can tell

from the way they sway when they're spoken to

Letter to the Future. VIII - Your History of War

11 July 2010


Your History of War

To Future,
I don't know which stories from the current Iraq war will look at you from your history books.  I hope, beyond anything else, that two messages are afforded you by the historians of your time.  Firstly, I hope that someone tells you the story of the people living, patrolling, defending and invading the neighborhoods where the bombs dropped, where manipulated intelligence meant dead loved ones, meant food insecurity, meant multiple tours, meant a more deeply hated America and a more fortified al Qaeda.