Anniversaries

I have nothing to say about 9/11
that anyone needs to hear
so I won't.

I saw the bombing of Bagdad
on CNN in '91, back when I still
had TV.

I watched as President H.W. Bush
smashed his fist in his other hand
with each blast

laughing and shouting as Baghdad 
eternal wonder of the world
flashed and burned

a president on an adrenaline high
watching the rockets red glare
over Baghdad

not grieving, mourning, or weeping
at what he apparently believed
must be done

but cheering as bombs hit targets
buildings exploded and people died
far away.

Ten years after that, I watched
as airplanes hit twin towers
in New York

and even as I gazed in shock
I remembered how a president laughed
while Baghdad burned.