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I wrote these poems on that day -
September 11, 2001
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
I cry when I think of the Cherokee children dying
Wrapped in smallpox-filled blankets
Given to them by US soldiers on their walk to relocated land.
They called it Manifest Destiny
The “bomb” annihilated whole cities
Nagasaki, Hiroshima
In order to bring peace, they said.
I cry when I remember the horrors of the Vietnam War
The napalm soaked landscape,
Soldiers killing women and babies in My Lai
Firestorms stripping skin from bone
Humanity gone beserk in the killing fields of the east
Later, “smart” bombs blew up embassies,
Marching civilians mistaken for the enemy
“Collateral” damage rampant.
I weep uncontrollably at the images flashed repeatedly
Jet planes full of loved ones crashing into the heart of America
Terrorists thrusting hatred and contempt deep into our psyches
Violation beyond imagination
How could they accomplish such devastation
Armed simply with knives?
Nothing is simple
Everything with a purpose
Focused determination wrought by fanatic devotion
The super powerful turned powerless to stop the onslaught
Where to look, when to retaliate, how many more innocents
Must die before we go to the source.
Get to the seed of this sinister movement.
Work to eradicate motives, not exterminate whole populations.
We are right by our side, they are right by theirs
Or so they think, and so we think, and so the wrongs pile up
Trying to make things right, but they never do.
September 17, 2001 - Another View
FURTHER REFLECTIONS AFTER A CONVERSATION WITH A VIETNAM WAR VET
There’s only one way to get rid of this scourge, he said.
Wipe them out, nuke them all
From Morocco to Islamabad
Kill the Mothers, the Babies, the Sons and Daughters
We won’t be safe until they’re all dead
It’s the nature of war, the survival of the fittest
If we don’t exterminate them, they’ll exterminate us.
We can never trust them or tolerate their ideas
Their religion teaches only One Path to God
Their Path, the Righteous Path,
The Path that leads to the downfall of the abhorred infidels,
The despised Americans.
Forget about Peace, Love and Brown Rice
It doesn’t exist
We can’t change them
We must annihilate them completely
If we’re to survive.
They’ve shown their intent, their resolve, their focus
Their Power to rage and destroy
Our leaders now must show their grit,
Mobilize our forces and push that button
Again and Again until they surrender
Kill them all, every Bin Laden, Gadhafi and Hussein
Nuke the Mothers, the Babies, the Sons and Daughters
We won’t be safe until they’re ALL dead.
Susanna Jade Angolani
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