Selected poems from 'Tabular Rasa' by Jeff Raheb

Havana       Paro Dzhong - Bhutan       Dal Lake - Kashmir       Bamboo       The Center       I Pour You A Cup Of Tea       For The Women Of Bosnia       You Say It Is Raining       Zimbabwe       The Comet       Pygmalion       Ganges       Nasca - Peru       Zu Twa Szi       Body Rain       The Shadow Puppet (Jogjakarta )                       Songkla - Thailand       5 Haikus

For The Women Of Bosnia Bosnia, March, 1994, from a NPR interview with a 15-year-old Muslim girl. Serbian forces were shelling the area we occupied. We tried to persuade her it would be safer to lie on the ground, as we were doing. She was indifferent and seemed to ignore us. She stood and talked freely amidst the noise. She told us she liked country music and that school was getting boring and in the same casual tone asked us, 'How long are people going to watch us die?' She said she liked country music Exploding sky, color of death Exploding bodies Men, children, women Terror pounding ears like the heart beats of a four legged veal marsala waiting to die Putrid flesh, burning houses, torched spirits 15 year old girl Steel eyes melting under the heat of genocide Imploding mind, split into a thousand screams Only war By whatever means Deafening anguish Running, deafening heart in throat, running She said she liked country music 24, 41, 32 15 years old This one here 82, 12, 7 years old Said she liked... Tie her wrists Neighbor, aunt, niece Liked count---try music Tighter Grandmother, sister Spread her legs And that school was getting boring Spread her legs Daughter, mother, wife And that school was getting... Tears running down the blood running down the legs running down the Savage streets filled with broken Coke bottles Wider, shove it, shove it Coke bottles shove it Spread them wider Shove it Shove it …. in 15 year old girl 13, 7 Faster, faster Knife in hand on throat in blood All the way, IN Who cares Fear disguised as hatred Turning sperm into bullets Piercing flesh Piercing humanity Just a female, just a body, just a toy Was getting boring No life, no more, no more Then she turned to us and said how long... Exploding wombs, death Eyeballs peeling off in horror How long... She said... Blood, legs, open, thrust, open She said... Point of knife, thrust in Thrust in center Center of humanity How long will... Thrust, who cares? Piece of meat Feed our revenge Feed our war machines Feed our weakness for power Shove it in The NY Times today stated that the UN council on human rights abuse has agreed that systematic rape is possibly being used by Serb forces as a tool for genocide against the Bosnian Muslims and that as such, may be viewed as a violation of international law. A warning will be issued to the... A warning will be issued to the... A warning... She said how long... After two years Brutal rapes After two years 20,000 30,000 Systematic rapes possibly being used 50,000 Before, who cares International law Only now they decide to act Genocide, So what How long will... That systematic rape... Sperm like lead bullets Is possibly being... Harder thrust the fucking thing all the way in Then she said... Wider And then she... Wider, Wider bitch And then she... Get another, she's dead, get another And then... Get another goddamn bitch And then she said... Goddamn bitch She said Goddamn bitch She turned to us and said...... How long are people going to watch us die? Copyright 2004 Jeff Raheb