Poetry
Baghdad in Detroit
An Iraqi poet living in the United States
On the 4th of July here in Detroit I hear the echo of Baghdad explosions They say these are fireworks Song by song I scatter my birds away from the fogs of smoke They say these are ordinary clouds in the sky A butterfly from the Tigris shores alights on my hand No bombs today to scare her away They say this is the Detroit River I enter a shelter with the others in the crowd We will exit at the end of the raid They say this is the tunnel to Canada