Silence - Poem 05-03-19

Silence
(Rhyming form)

Mirza A. Beg
Saturday, March 26, 2005

A decent person, I am; regrets, perhaps a few.
I love my family, and help my neighbors too.
I support my country, even in wars without sense.
I desist from protest, from me, only silence.

Depravity in Abu Ghraib, torture in offshore gulag,
Facilitated by my taxes, I pretend it was a gag.
I raise no banner, for the plight of the innocence,
In the name of the religion and humanity or conscience.

The ghosts of Faluja witness, helpless civilians,
Shot in cold blood, we loose face and credence.
Shear propaganda, I exclaim, I trust my President.
Ignorance is bliss, no tears from me and no comment.

My fears, defeat the sense of justice, in a Faustian bargain,
It is a revenge for 9/11, Iraqi or Afghan, are all the same.
Those, not with us are against us, I vote for vainglorious
I follow the leader, "stay the course", and join the chorus.

Yellow ribbons on my car, in memory of our troops in Iraq
I mourn 1500 of our dead, though a 100,000 died from Iraq,
And a million Iraqis are maimed; I do not want to hear.
Women and children too, it is a war and I don not care.

The second anniversary, of a war, rooted in deceit,
Lies filter through, too much blood, too late to defeat.
Too much is at stake, Bush says failure is not an option.
I find refuge in euphemisms; the truth is damnation.

I shun the negative news of war; lock it out of my life.
Yet, deep inside me, it stirs a pang; ignites a strife.
But, I do not raise my voice in indignant condemnation.
In support of my country, it is silenced, as prevention.

The voice persists; you are helping to kill the innocent.
But words forsake me, as I try to plead I am ignorant.
It started as an odd mix of timidity and impudence.
Two years of devastation, I ignore; I am guilty of silence.

Mirza A. Beg can be reached at mab64@yahoo.com