New poem

This is based off of a painting from a Vietnamese child. The Wick Poetry Center has a really great project going with these children's paintings and poets from across the country. Here's the website if you're interested: http://dept.kent.edu/wick/Outreach/Projects.html

And here's the link to see the painting I referred to (it's #14):

http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5X_Yzy_S6C8Y2FkOWVmMmEtZWI5Ni00ZGYyLTkyYjgtMDZiN2QwZDk1YWZi&hl=en

Extermination
After war painting #14 – “Extermination”

The man directly
to the right of me
is shot first
His left index finger
lands at my feet

Shards of glass
from the market
beside me
falls from the sky
like broken leaves

The sun is so bright
I can’t see the helicopter
only the body
and my own
shaking arms

The shot hits
before I hear it
The bag of groceries
I was carrying falls
to the ground

Clouds like mushrooms
rise from the dirt
like the ones my wife
cooks for dinner
on days she’s feeling lonely