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UNDERGROUND VOICES: POETRY - 01/2011
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MICHAEL SHORB BP DOESN'T WANT YOU TO SEE THESE PICTURES As a public service, BP will suppress a certain number of pictures related to recent events, this measure is designed to protect the sensibilities of the average american consumer. the drowned heron floating on oily sheen, the duck drifting upside down, gulf dolphins transformed into oily rags, and deep in the murk, the sullen volcano of oil exploding over and over. contractors burning piled heaps of sea creatures just before the rising of the sun. Like the man who shot himself in the stomach cleaning his gun we look around in angry shock, our technology taunted and ridiculed by a faraway explosion in the sea. AFGHANISTAN Fresh disasters loom suddenly as swerving suicide trucks, a blast stirs the sludge of past disappointments: Kipling’s regimental colors are withdrawn, the roar of Russian tanks fades into rocky silence. No freedom grows here where only warlords and their armies of orange poppies and ten-foot pot plants prosper. Your 21st Century might is reduced to a sideshow attraction: a man catching burning coals in his mouth, desperately striving to suck the fire into submission before his beard ignites. Afghanistan. The shadow men from the fourteenth century are back, riding their Toyota pickups into twilight, defiant, time on their side, wrapped in black flags and suicide belts, only the eyes visible. Michael Shorb is a poet, technical writer, editor and children's book author who lives in San Francisco. He writes frequently about environmental issues and historical topics. His work has appeared in over one hundred publications, including MICHIGAN QUARTERLY, KANSAS QUARTERLY, THE NATION, COMMONWEAL, RATTLE, THE SUN, SALZBURG POETRY REVIEW, EUROPEAN JUDAISM, QUEEN'S QUARTERLY and THE SHAKESPEARE NEWSLETTER. |
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