Smokescreen
Written before official count.
Smokescreen
When I saw the smoke rise
Across the river,
I saw a smokescreen rise.
Use it to cover the desperate agenda
Of a hand that is closed on a time that is gone.
6000 people killed twice,
Once on that Tuesday and once as we write
Their names on the bombs that we drop on Kabul.
When I saw the ash fall and smelled what I can't say,
I saw a Trojan Horse made.
Stuff it with clutching and fear-informed measures
Of a dying self-righteous, leftover regime.
6000 people killed twice,
Once on that day and once as we use them
As a reason to hold 800 without bond.
When I saw Mark Roger Wells, hung up with duct tape
On the side of a pay phone
And I knew that he was loved...
When I heard the choked voice of loss turned to sound byte
And I lost the heart to write...
When "United we stand" is a pizza box slogan
And I wake up ten times a night...
There are 6000 people killed twice,
Once on that Tuesday and once if we fear
To say, "This isn't justice and this isn't right."