A couple of days ago I brought you a poem written by the American soldier-poet, Brian Turner, about his experiences in Iraq.
Here is another from his book "Here, Bullet".
ASHBAH
The ghosts of American soldiers
wander the streets of Balad by night,
unsure of their way home, exhausted,
the desert wind blowing trash
down the narrow alleys as a voice
sounds from the minaret, a soulful call
reminding them how alone they are,
how lost. And the Iraqi dead,
they watch in silence from rooftops,
as date palms line the shore in silhouette,
leaning toward Mecca when the dawn wind blows.
Brian Turner
Balad is a town of approximately 100,000 inhabitants 50 miles north of Baghdad and is located within the borders of the so-called Sunni Triangle. However, Balad is primarily Shiite, which has led to considerable sectarian fighting. There is also an important military airstrip.
