by Greg Rollins

rebar begs
with concrete flowers
in a desert garden
tilled by rage

once dried by sanctions
such iron thickets
now bloom in bombed cities
where freedom has rained

sun soaked in dust
stubborn and bitter
the thickets will surrender
into brambles of rust

commentary

Destroyed buildings fleck the cities of Iraq; rebar grows out of the rubble and overruns the sidewalks, parking lots and roads. These ruined buildings are like the country. Once under the strains of economic sanctions where locals could not even bring in the simplest items to fix water pipes or the electricity, the nature of the ruined buildings resembles wild growth brought to life by the bombing campaign meant to free Iraq. Now people ignore the destroyed buildings as other nations ignore the country. Few see them and fewer are willing to clean them up. The remnants of buildings and country sit in the sun and dust, and rust together.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical violence-reduction program with roots in the historic peace churches. Teams of trained peace workers live in areas of lethal conflict around the world. CPT has been present in Iraq since October, 2002. To learn more about CPT, please visit www.cpt.org.
Photos of our projects may be viewed at www.cpt.org/gallery