Hear me
read
the poem as
an MP3 file.
Poems About
Terrorism and
9/11
Copyright by
Nicholas Gordon
In what
we've done we take the greatest shame.
Nothing that was done to us excuses
it.
Despite the evil of our enemies,
Evil never justifies more evil,
Perhaps because it never leads to
good.
Each tortured prisoner pollutes our
name.
None has unchecked power but abuses
it.
Defying friends, ignoring verities,
Embracing our illusions without
scruple,
Now we must repent, as well we
should.
Conquerors must always take the
blame.
Each rules ruthlessly its state or
loses it.
Demons overran our conquerees
As we washed our hands of our debacle,
Yielding to what washed our dreams in
blood.
Copyright by Nicholas Gordon. Free for personal or non-commercial use.
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