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THE HADITHA DAM by M. C. Armstrong

April 1, 2009 Contributed By: M. C. Armstrong

Soviet cement,
Yankee tenants,
Belches of Euphrates

Pass SEALs on the eastern shore

Contractors in ramshackle camps to the west.
An ex-swat cop in a tea-cloth told me not to swim
Unless I wanted cancer like the Hadithans,
As if to confirm the rumors
of Chemical Ali’s hidden stash—

The secret flow.
Every paper boy knows
The Iraqi word for bullshit
(mutar saif)
Translates to summer rain.

The myths of this war swarm my mind like sand flies.
Every soldier wanted to have his hushed moment with the paper boy,
Tell about his Cheyenne brother now fighting in Custer’s cavalry,
The old friend torn to shreds in the mess hall mess,
The augmented son who died in the summer streets of Ramadi,
The sniper who used to wear a duster and a battle axe to high school,

The sarin at the base of the dam

The SEALs

never showed you,
Boy.

You’re getting played, the SEAL told me.

You’re getting played, the contractor told me.

The east shore told one story,

The west an other.

The gist not being one or the other,
But the ping pong game,
The division,
The competition,
The crucible of paranoia,
The dare of a swim up the middle
On a cold March morning,
Fifth anniversary of the invasion.

Return to table of contents for Issue 1 Spring 2009

Filed Under: Poetry Posted On: April 1, 2009

Further Reading

To a Jar by Henryk Cierniak
(Translated from Polish by John Guzlowski)

oh tiny jar sealed up with rubber and a fastener just in case it’s not true that you carry emptiness inside – you contain room for happiness and sorrows and the pickled cucumbers are nice oh you jar the friend of long hours at the fireplace and summer revels faithful friend the transparent jar made […]

Interview with Novelist Miriam McNamara
by Raki Kopernik

Miriam McNamara was born in Ireland, raised in the Southern United States, and now lives in the Midwest. She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of two queer young adult historical novels. Her debut, The Unbinding of Mary Reade, was released in 2018 by Sky Pony […]

Gift for Languages by Alejandro Méndez (translated by Laura Chalar)

On his motorcycle, far from the Prague of his birth, Mateo knows strength comes from speed. To be one with the machine, in a straight line, even in bends. Aerodynamic device, body at the service of wind. Only a calculation error, the wrong acceleration in a blowout, leads to collision. After the crash, he stands […]

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