This graphic and poem are reprinted from
the September 99 New Internationalist.

The poem, by Lisa Suhair Majaj, was
first published in Al Jadid, Winter '98.

The illustration is by Emily Johns.

consider the infinite fragility of an infant's skull
how the bones lie soft and open
only time knitting them shut

consider a delicate porcelain bowl
how it crushes under a single blow
in one moment whole years disappear

consider that beneath the din of explosions
no song can be heard
no cry

consider your own sky on fire
your name erased
your children's lives "a price worth paying"

consider the faces you do not see
the eyes you refuse to meet
"collateral damage"

how in these words
the world cracks open