INTERVIEWS
The Pedestal Magazine > Archives > THE POLITICAL ANTHOLOGY > Poetry >Paul Catafago - Memory Failure (for Ronald Reagan)

I can not remember what was the name
of the boy,
the boy who lost his legs,
his arms,
his mother,
his father,
and alas his own life
because of you...

I can not remember what country he was from
even,
if he was from Nicaragua,
or Honduras,
or El Salavador,
or Grenada,
Iran or Iraq...

I can not remember
what was the name of the boy
who lost his life because of you,
buried in an unmarked grave,
amidst other poor victims of your wars,
nameless and forgotten by the world,
because you made his life worthless.

The truth is the boy did count,
as did his sister, and his parents,
and his friends and countrymen,
the boy did count and still does.

I can not remember what made the world
believe your lies, what made the world accept
this bloody new world order that you orchestrated.

In the end, you were buried as you had wished,
buried as though you were a hero,
buried as though you were a prophet,
buried as the sun set over a mountain far away
from Managua, from Baghdad,
from San Salavador and Tehran,
far away from the victims you continue
to make even though you have gone.

In the end even your departure was a lie,
your life of lies celebrated only by other liars.

I can not remember what was the name of the boy,
the boy whose life meant so much more than yours.

I can not remember.
Enter your email:

Home      Register     About Us/Staff     Submit     Links     Contributors     Advertising     Archives     Blog    Donation    Contact Us    Web Design