Suicide Bomber – War Poems
He was only a boy. I was barely a man,
And as he drew near, I did what I can.
I smiled as he walked, and I offered some sweets,
As he came up towards me through dusty old streets.
And then as I watched him, and saw what he wore,
I wondered about him. Had I seen him before?
I looked at his face, I thought then of my son.
He looked a bit like him gazing into the sun.
And then he exploded and his flesh filled the air.
One moment his smile, and then a big flare.
I saw the explosion, and I smelt the burnt flesh,
In the air that I breathed, that before had seemed fresh.
He was only a boy. I was barely a man,
And as I drew near, I did what I can.
I collected his pieces, and said a quick prayer,
For the boy who’d exploded in response to my stare.
Did he think it worth it, the battle he’d fought?
The moment of fame that his body had bought.
For nothing had changed in the way that he’d planned,
And war is still fought in his dusty old land.
Suicide Bomber – War Poems.
Dick Underwood (2009)
