R Edgar 2004
The longer I hold
The higher I go
Neighbors and soldiers
Crouching below
Hard to explain what my eyes have exposed
Peeling this Polaroid history.
No bridge from the last moment’s leading to this
And the future’s corrupted by mystery.
The longer I hold
The higher I go
Vespas and taxicabs
Through candles your green eyes took in the crowds
And your hands were warm around mine
Hotels were empty their front doors ajar
Lemon grass soup spilled in French wine
The longer I hold
The higher I go
The morning is young
The victory cold.
Rushing
past others
Our
boots on the ground
Our
politics reasoned
Our
strategies sound.
And
though time was streaming
It
seems just a second
Did
you think it was really
Our
safety that beckoned?
The longer I
hold
The higher I
go
I’m alive but
I’m hanging
It’s a risk I
was sold.
I stumbled with refugees, shared cigarettes
And walked through the smoking staging zone
Suddenly sprinting as the chopper was lifting
Do the news photos show that I hang alone?
The longer I hold
The higher I go
The prop wash so hot
My fingers so cold.
The longer I hold
The higher I go
The longer I hold
The higher I go.