When Cannons Roar
The cannons cried
screamed
children wept
parents and children alike
found craters to jump in
a car bomb exploded in the fruit market
fruit went to holy hell
sent a dozen shoppers off
to heaven
the car itself was fully totaled
an* IED rained scalpel
from which no umbrella could protect
the poppy plants for the heroin
are very well protected..
all hell broke loose in the streets
the blood as deep as snow
someone’s limbs lay in a heap
in a rug shop around the corner
the green zone was the safe haven
but the mortars didn’t know
they accidentally flew in
during a heated debate about
the course of the war
and the cannons
continued to scream
to roar
to roar
to roar
until the sky was flesh colored
until the smell of death pervaded throughout the city
until the stench slid under every door…
Clyde A. Wray
April 13, 2009
All Rights Reserved
*Improvised explosive devise
