Special Edition: 4th Anniversary of the War in Iraq

Fantasy
by Laura Wilson

Sinbad the Sailor Man: the Thief of Baghdad,
Sheik Ayman al-Zawahiri: the doctor of suicide.

A Disneyworld turret in moonlight,
Shattered blocks, broken glass, bloody carseats.

Princess Scheherazade sings of secret doors,
Serpentine arms and finger bells tell, bare toes tell
A story without end.

A widow shrieks,
Her arms flung across a child's body in a carpet,
A wail that has no end.

As children, my cousin and I
Sat
Like watchful kittens
Before the cartoon: "Aladdin and His Genii"

My cousin's son is dead
His arms torn away by a desert bomb,
His grave in Cairo, Missouri.
Persia is no longer a velvet night.
The Eastern skies explode with vengeance
In a story that has no end.

The author is a freelance journalist, poet, and short story writer from Libertyville, Illinois. She can be reached at LSWilson49@aol.com.