I said,
It's not rocket science to learn to care
for wildlife
for humanlife
for lesbianlife

I said,
There's a lesbian over there
in the souks and sands of Iraq
pulling in her headscarf
against desert storms

There's a lesbian over there
who in the dark of the moon
kisses the eyelids of her lover

There's a lesbian at risk
from bombs not of her own making

I said,
It'll be a moonless night
when the bombs begin to drop
silent as birdwing

She's about to be bombed alongside
the fathers
the brothers
the husbands she refused to marry

I said, Long ago this land of Mesopotamia
running between the waters
of the Tigris and Euphrates
was a land friendly to women

No doubt the lesbian of that time
followed the path of the moon and
kissed the eyelids of her lover

I said,
She's about to be bombed
Because she doesn't care to leave
her home
her house
her lover

She's about to be bombed
for the viscous veins of oil
that lie beneath the ancient waters

They drained the marshes of
the Tigris and the Euphrates
to drill for oil

I said,
Have a look at the shape of
the fertile crescent

I said, Like oil and water lesbianlife and patriotism don't mix

Published in Lesbiana (Australia).