Watch Kendall read the poem:
http://www.chainlessway.ca/redcloth.htm#km

For the People of My Country

Out, out, out, of Afghanistan
my country
with its arid hills
and green valleys
you have no business here
chattering away with your machine guns
coming in with your jets and helicopters
the blue mountains of home
are being fouled by your presence
others have tried before
and have left by the passes
north and south
we are a poor country
with only ourselves
to carry on before God
we do not seek your so-called wisdom
your politicians win elections
in our grief
just to prove they are he-men
but they are not
if you put in 400,000 troops
you will not subdue us
for the passes are narrow
and we have eyes like eagles
and will pick you off
one by one
until all 400,000 are gone
you know well that it was the Saudis
who flew the planes
you know well that it was Americans
who trained them
surely the camps of our small nation
cannot compare to Dix and Pendleton
where you train to kill us
is your God so cruel
that it must take a revenge
against nothing
just to make your giant country
sigh with relief
you won’t
Allah guides us
gives us a brilliance
in the warfare of the mountains
where you trip and stumble
we are lightfooted
we do not need body armor
we do not need telephones
in our helmets
you are all so obvious
because this is our land
not yours
So, take this warning
get out while you can
and let us live
with our own freedom!

By Kendall Merriam: Rockland, Maine January 3, 2009
     Listening to Santana “Greatest Hits”

Address:
Veterans For Peace
William Ladd Chapter
PO Box 274
Freeport, ME 04032-0274


e-mail:
boblezervfp@suscom-maine.net


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