Vox Populi
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Sarah Browning: I go for days
I go for days forgetting these pictures –
bare brown bodies stained and curled
on cement floors or cowering in a corner,
the dog’s teeth more real than the man’s terror,
.
which we know from history will likely
deaden into numbness in the man, then turn,
grow menacing as an improvised
explosive device. I go for days forgetting.
.
In war, in the aftermath of war
bridges collapse into rivers, sense
into nonsense, bodies into meat –
offal on the slaughterhouse floor.
.
Another man, imprisoned here nine years –
shackled days, electric chair sizzling
in anticipation. The state was mistaken,
it seems, pays the man money.
.
He struggles to rebuild the bridge
of his life collapsed into those years.
He is a big man who tells his story
every day and every day he cries.
.
I don’t remember his name
from the newspaper. I don’t
know the names of the Iraqi men
in the pictures I go for days forgetting.
—
copyright 2015 Sarah Browning
Vox Populi 
Great poem, shukrin! (Who is Sarah Browning?) From: Vox Populi To: sharondoubiago@yahoo.com Sent: Friday, May 8, 2015 2:51 AM Subject: [New post] Sarah Browning: I go for days #yiv6247058618 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv6247058618 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv6247058618 a.yiv6247058618primaryactionlink:link, #yiv6247058618 a.yiv6247058618primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv6247058618 a.yiv6247058618primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv6247058618 a.yiv6247058618primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv6247058618 WordPress.com | Vox Populi posted: “I go for days forgetting these pictures –bare brown bodies stained and curledon cement floors or cowering in a corner,the dog’s teeth more real than the man’s terror,.which we know from history will likelydeaden into numbness in ” | |
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Hi Sharon! Sarah Browning is a poet and activist who lives in Washington, DC. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of Split This Rock, an organization that publishes and organizes readings by activist-poets. I admire her greatly.
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A beautifully-written reminder of how easy it is to turn our faces away instead of demanding change. Our ability to forget is both a blessing and a curse.
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