VIET NAM , August 11, 1966
11 people die, 187 are wounded
it is a tragedy
because
they are civilian
11 people die, 187 are wounded
it is a victory
because
they are the enemy
11 people die, 187 are wounded
it is an atrocity
because
they are ours
skin off the labels,
taste the darkness beneath
ask a leg if it is civilian
an arm if it is the enemy
an eye if it is ours
Ellen S. Jaffe, published in Crossing Lines: Poets Who Came to Canada in the Vietnam War Era. Ed. Allan Briesmaster and Steven Michael Berzensky, Seraphim Editions: Hamilton, 2008.
Ellen and Steven talked to Steve Paikin of TVO’s The Agenda about this book in February 2011 as a webcast feature. You can watch the interview, in which Ellen reads this poem, at http://bit.ly/gwR83k
No comments:
Post a Comment