Stillborn 
(a poem of occupation) 
by Mickey Z.
www.dissidentvoice.org
December 12, 2005



 

Somewhere 
in the backstreets of Mosul 
(or maybe Falluja) 
it happens like a 
meteor streaking across the 
pre-dawn horizon 

An Iraqi girl or (as she’d rather be called) teen 
standing before a window 
conjures a new thought 
Something never before conceptualized 
The sort of notion that, if nurtured and respected, 
might alter the course of human history 

Before she can savor more than three 
seconds of epiphany...before her eyes can even display 
the joy of revelation, 
she is mistaken for an “insurgent” 
(or was it “terrorist”?) 

Sun begins to rise 
Rays of light shoot through 
bullet holes in her tattered window shade 
The girl takes her last breath 
as yet another day begins 

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at: www.mickeyz.net. This essay is excerpted in part from his new book, 50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism (Disinformation Books).

Other Recent Articles by Mickey Z.

* Politics on Your Plate
* An Occupation Worth Applauding: Celebrate Un-Thanksgiving
* Stealing Veteran's Day from the Militarists
* Strike for Peace: An Interview with Brian Bogart
* POW Abuse: Nothing New Going on Here
* An Interview with Thaddeus Rutkowski
* The Lords of War: Arming the World at a Theater Near You
* Keep the “Labor” in Labor Day: Remembering the Lowell Mill Girls
* The Bonus Army
* Helen Keller: Not Blind to War Crimes
* Vermin and Souvenirs: How to Justify a Nuclear Attack
* “Karl Rove Isn't the Only Monster Out There”: An Interview with Josh Frank
* “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” An Interview with Dr. Walter M. Brasch
* Politics and the Playing Field: An Interview with David Zirin
* Water on the Brain
* The Pentagon Papers, 34 Years Later
* The Mother of All Days
* May Day at Yankee Stadium
* The Endgame of an American Chess Genius
* The Million Dollar Interview
* What Ward Churchill Didn't Say
* Leslie Gelb Asks Iraq: Who's Your Daddy?
* “Piss on Pity”: Clint Eastwood's “Million Dollar” Snuff Film
* I Want My DDT
* A Wave of Questions: Putting a Disaster in Context
* Crumbs from Our Table: Direct Action for Third World Misery
* Interview with a Tupamaro
* An Interview with William Blum
* A Non-ABB Take on Electoral Fraud

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