Remi Kanazi: The Bells of Liberty (Poem)

“Rebel!” read his t-shirt
My teeth hurt
Grinding every time George Bush
And his masterminds
Grace the TV
Feeding me the grandeur of “liberty”

1914: the year WWI started
1914: the number of US soldiers “departed” from this life
Sliced by the knife of neocon greed
The “need” to invade other countries

1917: Balfour made up his mind
My great grandparents land would be taken from Palestine
What kind of sacrifice will the US want in my life?
My future wife
My unborn son
Should I gun down some young children and women
With the American flag and my 12 step vision?

Where will this country be when 1917 are put into the cemetery?
Still talking about liberty, chivalry and security
Where’s the government’s sacrifice for Iraqi “democracy?”
Why won’t the President and Congress ask their children
To bear the wartime affliction
Will Jenna and Barbara Bush enlist?
Will they hobble back with one fist and no legs?
Speaking of the dead they saw
The jaws blown off by their father’s decision

One day we’ll reminisce on the number 1914
Dreaming of a number so low
As our soldiers “let go” tens of thousands to their brutal fate
US forces will duplicate Fallujah and Tal Afar
Young republicans will thank their lucky stars
Because George Bush has taken them so far

But Arabs, Muslims, Christians, and Jews
Those of you seeking humanity
Must end this insanity and speak out!

In Washington DC, Los Angles, and NYC
In London, Paris, Madrid and Helsinki
In Cairo, Amman, Riyadh and Beirut
Stand up to the roots of American imperialism!

Fight for something better than “democracy”
For the rights of those deserving autonomy
The plight of those seeking to be free

This war is unnecessary:
In its unconstitutionality, brutality, and idiocy
In its illegality, mendacity, and US culpability

Say no to America’s aggression in foreign countries
Because you never know when they’ll want to bring you liberty

**I live in New York City as a Palestinian American freelance writer. I am the founder and primary writer for the political website www.PoeticInjustice.net. I can be reached at remroum@gmail.com.

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