InArms A project for the Edmonton Poetry Festival

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Poem of the Week

Burka

October 4, 2010

I am the foreign soldier whose guns you hear
There is no need to shake in fear
Uncover your head my Burka dear

Mr. Taliban is dead
His bandits exploded hamburger red
Burka you may unveil your head

Eternal virgins’ pleasure these rats will never paw
After the flash of our artillery – ha ha – ah
My dear Burka

Quick is the crow to feast on delicate fresh eye of awe
Manners unforgotten he invites the family with a calming caw
So peaceful to hear is it not Burka

Your father and uncle are truncated and wholly bled
There is nothing here for you to dread
Burka you may unhood your head

See here lies old decapitated Mullah
Ending his cruel merciless fatwa
Against you and yours my dear Burka

The village Burka you once knew
Is shot and shrapnel through and through
Our howitzer’s aim is precise and true

Burka your brother tied feet and hand
Lies deep inside a rumbling torture van
In long transport to another land

His shoulders sag
A still docile doe not a bucking stag
Blind and half suffocated Burka by a tight head bag

Uncover your head my Burka dear
There is no need to shake in fear
I am the foreign soldier whose guns you hear

By Dave

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About this Page

This page contains a single poem called “Burka”, written by Dave. It was posted here on October 4, 2010 as a Poem of the Week. From here, you can navigate to older and newer poems (take a look just below the poem on this page), or you can see the complete list of poems.

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