The Son of my Friend

The son of my friend is a US marine.

He joined at eighteen with lofty ideals.

The consequences were unforeseen.

Thought the war would be over when he turned nineteen,

happy Iraqis eating Happy Meals,

and grateful to the US marines.

His high school friend, a pacifist Green,

rants against war and corporate deals

with consequences unforeseen.

Meanwhile in Tikrit, the hapless fellahin

search the rubble for all it conceals

under the watch of a US marine.

Deployed to Baghdad with a killing machine,

the American son takes up smoking and pills,

consequences unforeseen.

Now after a year, fear and death are routine.

Liberation at gun point no longer appeals.

The son of my friend is a US marine

The consequences were unforeseen.

April Eiler