NI: Global Issues for Learners of English > The Issues > Iraq > Arguments against the bombing
Arguments Against the Bombing
consider the infinite fragility of an infant’s skull
how the bones lie soft and open
only time knitting them shutconsider a delicate porcelain bowl
how it crushes under a single blow
– in one moment whole years disappearconsider that beneath the din of explosions
no song can be heard
no cryconsider your own sky on fire
your name erased
your children’s lives “a price worth paying”consider the faces you do not see
the eyes you refuse to meet
“collateral damage”how in these words
the world cracks openconsider: think about
fragility (n); fragile (adj): something that breaks very easily
porcelain: fine, high- quality china, very thin
din: a lot of loud, unpleasant noises
collateral damage: ordinary people who are killed in war.
['Collateral damage' is a phrase used by the military so that we don't think about the fact that military action kills innocent people. 'Collateral' means: connected to the main point, but not the focus.]
Poem by Lisa Suhair Majaj.
First published in Al Jadid, Winter 1998.
Illustration by Emily Johns
new internationalist
issue 316 - September 1999