The Stars and Stripes is Free

The Stars and Stripes is free.
I grab one to read
while I eat my eggs.
They’re okay but the
bacon’s not quite right.

A girl’s face filled with glee.
The photo on this
page is black and white.
Her mom says this is
a party for her.

She is about to see.
The next picture shows
tears where the smiles were.
I stop chewing my
breakfast and lean back.

She fights to break free.
Her mother holds her
down inside some shack.
The other woman
dives in with a knife.

Why won’t they let her be?
Why are the black robes
threatening her life?
The Kurd women cut
off some private skin.

I sip my hot coffee.
The Kurds are my team
in this war I’m in.
I see my own girl
getting blood, not cake.

It’s hard for me to see.
A lie so awful
it makes my heart break.
To see daughters bleed
while I eat my eggs.