Good morning, Mrs Garcia & The new geography
by Paul Hoover
[ poetry - october 06 ]
Good morning, Mrs Garcia
Your son just died in Iraq.
He was a loyal soldier,
And it's such a beautiful day.
We're sorry for your loss,
But tell us, if you will,
How does it make you feel?
Look into the camera.
This is a microphone.
Please tell us about his death.
Maybe you'd feel better
If you cried into the camera.
That's it, let it go. Project
Your feelings as naturally
As you can. Now stand
A little closer, lift your chin.
You're doing very well.
Your son died in Iraq.
He was a Boy Scout once.
He liked to sing at school.
Describe in your own words
How it feels to lose a son
In the dust and rubble
Of a foreign country.
Lots of good men die
preserving our freedoms.
I know you must be proud.
This great nation of ours
Is the reason we go to war.
It's men like Fernando who
Go that extra mile, so tell us,
Please, exactly how you feel.
The new geography
The generals made a mistake.
Some of their soldiers apparently
Tortured some prisoners.
They didn't mean to do it.
Soldiers are often unruly
When war makes them nervous.
It was all a mistake of course.
You'll never find any bruises.
The generals didn't know that
Prisons designed for torture
Would be used in such a way.
There are always a few bad apples,
Unruly soldiers from small towns
In the South, with little education
And not much hope for the future.
This is a Christian country -
No one loves life like we do.
The world is full of mistakes,
And if someone made one,
We'll get to the bottom of it.
The great Islamic people
Must have done something
To get flown to these prisons
Halfway round the world,
Bound and hooded, hobbled
For their safety. Let's not
Quibble over mere semantics.
The world is cruel sometimes.
You can lose a dog in the woods.
A Christian prisoner wouldn't
Break down that way. He'd
Take it like a man, if by mistake
in a secret prison some unruly
Soldiers got a little out of hand.
