Afghanistanding, boys peer round the corners
of bombed out buildings, wondering
with sweats will they ever see Osama
in shackles and Iowa in autumn gold.
Words, just words, fly through young minds
like the girl and the kiss never
given:
Sunni, Shia, Kabul, Helmand, opium.
Hang on to that automatic weapon!!
Back home we are packing boxes to send to
our sudden soldiers. We have been
told what they want: Pop Tarts and
playing cards, Fruit Roll-Ups, some
comic books. For us they give their
limbs, their lives. Lovely boys, I
can
remember when "soldier" was just a
game we played!