Ethnic
CleansingEthnic
Cleansing
Gamin eyes smudged with hunger
gaze dully at macabre street scenes
relayed faithfully
across fiber optic highways
and into warm living rooms
light years away.
Little bodies make small piles,
brushed against the curb
like so much rubble
covered over with sheets.
Red-brown splotches bleed
into the fabric
like a crazy watercolor.
A shoeless foot extended in flight
a hand still clutching
a decapitated cloth doll
caught by surprise
while rebel forces posture
like bullies in the school yard.
In our streets,
the war is less organized.
Girls and boys maim themselves
with tattoos and bullet holes
more grotesque
because they're voluntary,
etched out of the malaise
of a nation that has everything.
©Katherine M. Searle
searlek@mail.davenport.k12.ia.us
