From within the walls,
Black vans, amour and machine guns
Quiet waiting to leave

The morning begins
Where your loved ones are
Still is yesterday

On the road to Suleimaniyah, near the border of Iran we hear that the head of the security for the province was shot in the head in his bed early in the morning.  "Shot in the head in his bed" could be a perverse Dr. Suess line. We pass little towns, occasionally seeing men on roof tops with machine guns guarding something, we know not what.  Walking around for a minute after we pull over in our little security convoy at a truck stop I notice some of our guards who look at me with significance.  Since I was never really introduced to them I don't really know them from complete strangers except that some talk to me and others exchange a look that is supposed to say, "I am watching over you, don't worry".

After the party
The orange fell from the tree
With a thud

Behind Concrete Walls
In Baghdad safely we live
Our separate lives

Full Orange Trees
Lining the compound wall, also
Captives of Baghdad

There is a red zone where the sun goes down
And a red zone in Iraq
If civilization had its dawn there
Is that were it sets?

Iraq

Dull dreary silence
Is a profound joy; a day
Without sudden death

In the Fall desert
Is an orange-brown dust
But no pumpkins

Having found Beloved
In the soul the only thing
Is to sing

You Desert Flower
Living in the bright light why
Only bloom at night?