Yes
By David Smith Ferri
September, 2010
For JA and KK, heading to Creech
If we don’t say no.
If we live in the shadow of lies
and fail to name them in public.
If we see the missiles in our own backyards
and avert our eyes.
If we hear,
oozing out of the rotten fruit of our government offices,
that every Muslim has explosives
strapped to his chest;
if we hear the ticker tape of our daily news
mimicking the heartbeat of Pentagon policymakers;
if we hear Afghan and Pakistani people described as
packs of dogs tearing at each other
and we don’t say no.
If we hear our neighbors say:
The whole world should just give up on these countries over there!
No one goes in or out for five years….PERIOD!
They’d all be dead in one year,
but let’s let it sit for four years just to be sure! HA!
If we don’t say no with our mouths,
with our paintbrushes and cameras,
our listserves and newspapers and magazines.
If we don’t say no with our bodies
by boarding planes and traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan
,
by standing in Islamabad, Kabul, Lahore,
by sharing tea,
by exchanging smiles, opinions, ideas.
If we don’t say no,
there will be no chance to say yes.
