Paz para Vieques

VIEQUES: VARIATIONS ON A THEME

(For David Sanes: first human casualty of the bombing in Vieques.)

I
What can we do
if the Marines refuse to leave Vieques
except stand up and resist?

II
The day began like any other day:
crisp, the sea spray of mar Caribe was
spindrift against the rising eastern sun;
sparse cumulus, like flaming galleons,
were tinged with the pink, orange and red luster
of early morning; and, while seagulls and pelicans
roamed as restless as corsairs, the surf
could be heard, mighty and free, white-tipped
cradle of passions and dreams,
lapping and otherwise pristine shore.
Just an ordinary day
on the island of Isla Nena.

Had he but known that Death would be let loose
that day; Death, with claws exposed and
teeth bared. Had he but known …
would he have wakened to the crowing
of the rooster madrugador
and the aroma of cafe colao,
to thinking about the woman with whom
he would share the balance of his life
and the tragedia in Kosovo?
Or would he have remained instead–
like many on the mainland that day–
complacent in bed, asleep, dreaming?

III
(I wanted to be a soldier and avenge
the dead.)
But after
My Lai
DMZ
Hanoi, Saigon & Paris
U
S
A
P
O
W
Full Metal Jacket
Catch-22, Apocalypse Now, Obscenities
The intentional bombing of Vieques
You can have your posturings of peace
and bilateral agreement
and shove them up
your crystallized assholes