—December 15, 2011
1.
It began with a bang,
the first of many—the seismic cough
of a bunker-buster
in Baghdad. Yes,
the woman near Haifa Street said,
I was in shock; I was in awe.
Later: Babylon for sale
on eBay.
2.
That man in As-Sadiyah said
after Uday took
his sister, fucked her
for a long weekend,
she went home,
bathed in gasoline
in the family courtyard
and burned
on a spring afternoon.
He said Thank you,
