anniversary

anniversary

there are some days
who's passing you mark,
not because you want to,

but because they've
burned themselves
permanently
into the calender
of your life.

because they've
picked up brands
and seared themselves
into your flesh
for you to see

and while the afterburn
of those days
still lingers,

while i still
live in a world
constantly shaped
renamed
transformed,
i pray for the day
when this day
will only stir
slowly
scabbing-over memories,

not the bombs
of last week,
or
the deaths of yesterday.


(dedicated in part to all who have lost their lives, in whole or in part, in Iraq)