Clean War
by Patricia Wellingham-Jones

They are calling this the cleanest war in all of military history.
--Tom Brokaw, April 2, 2003

Tell that to the ravens
plucking out eyes
on the blood-packed sand

To fathers cradling
the last of their hopes
in torn bodies

To young girls swelling
with the unwanted gifts
of swift strong soldiers

To mothers and wives
pulling on veils of grief
as they wash their dead

Inform the children
who wander dazed with thirst, alone
among ruins