Christ's posse, weapons on safe
history slurps between the planks of a pontoon
history breaks apart sunlight like shattered glass
past foliage into terra cotta
children run between our column
a sheep is sacrificed on the main street corner
its blood spills into a tin bowl
three of its brothers hang stripped on hooks
fur fat and meat comingle
near its still-twitching haunches
the stink is tremendous

Past vegetable carts towards stone nuggets
up the first hill and the body armor begins
to stick to the torso in a lover's embrace
listen to your breath and think your thoughts
goats replace the children and nibble at the green bottoms
of brown things
the terrain winds and clicks and casts eyes
from windows set in unfinished stone
a tangle of cable veins their way
from underground to six houses with satellites pointed to Mecca
I enter the middle of these homes
with the Major
and the Captain
the translator
and a note

A sheik steps from the bed of a truck
two local soldiers hold his outstretched hands
he lands without disturbing the clay
reaches into his pocket and withdraws
a string of beads
he takes his seat across from us
between the heads of household
The grunts in our squad
form a perimeter
outside the perimeter
the local soldiers smoke
and smile which reveal most of their teeth

Tea is served in lily-shaped glasses
poured over four brown sugarcubes
stirred by spoons no bigger than a grown man's thumb
the first sip is scalding and the men begin to speak
starting with the Shariah lawyer
(who is also the eldest Uncle)
he first asks to see the note
looks at each of us and sets his stare at me
the translator tells me that I must read the report
while the rest of the room stays silent
I begin to read about two white cars
who meet and then pass at a crossroads
one is suspected of carrying explosives
the other is carrying a family:
a chemical engineer whose brother
is a professor of biology on vacation
they share the front
in the back sits the professor's daughter
while her daughter is seated beside her
(the daughter in fact had entered the room
and took a seat on the lawyer's lap
she was no more than four)
the Army mistook one car for the other
an order was issued a missile was fired
the front of the vehicle became a crater
swallowed the professor
devoured the engineer
and maimed the daughter's hand
the child was left unharmed
bathed in her family's blood
waiting for medical aid
from an Army medic
that arrived four hours later

The child looked towards the ceiling
I turned over the report
She wore a pink shirt and magenta pants
with a matching crocheted head piece
her eyes were large and had three
symetrical lines
beneath them carved upon the eyelid

The lawyer paraphrased the report
when he reached the portion about the child
he swept his hand along her cheek
and wept for a moment before clicking his teeth
the sheik put his fingers to his mouth
nodded twice and reached for the note
he read the translation aloud and shook his head
the note was a letter of apology signed
by an Army Brigadier General
the note offered no confession of guilt
but instead expressed regret over the unfortunate confusion
the order was given based upon the existing intelligence
without nefarious intent
therefore the United States offers
restitution

The lawyer began to thumb his rosary
as the sheik spoke to us
the family since the incident was the object of gossip
tying them to Al Qaeda
the note is not exculpatory
the note does not name the victims
the sheik invokes Pan Am 103
destroyed over Lockerbie Scotland
2.7 billion was repeated three times
ten million dollars per family
that is no less than what these victims deserve
pillars of the local community
but the sheik averred
what is truly desired by all in the family
is a monument dedicated to all the atrocities
perpetrated by the invasion
he described a wall like the Viet Nam memorial
but in order to accomodate
the number of souls
the volume of blood on our hands
the wall would have to reach to the sky
and stretch the length of the Euphrates

The sheik paused and took a sharp breath
the girl child took a seat on the carpet
and arranged the blonde hair on her doll into a braid
the Major and the Captain
offered to request that the note name the victims
and declare them free of terrorist ties
the rest they declared in unison
was not possible
Congress had established the rules of compensation
Iraqi parliament agreed to them:
No more than 2500 dollars per proven death
No more than 2500 dollars for injury
No more than the estimated value of destroyed property
In one lump some and no more
The total for the victim was 10000 dollars
1.2 million Iraqi Dinar
take it
leave it
sue your own government
our hands are effectively tied

The sheik relented
requested the letter in less than thirty days time
the negotiations concluded
now conduct the payment
conclude the day's business
I opened my pack and took out a clipboard
verified the information on the vouchers
scratched the pen on a blank piece of paper
signed the disbursing block
I took the Dinar from my left cargo pocket
counted each pink bill twice
each bill was worth 25 thousand
the Major signed the authorizing block
and ordered me to stand up
I looked down on the carpet
until ten toes
each painted red
appeared in front of my boots
I turned the clipboard away from me
she signed the payment block

The lawyer took her right hand
wrapped in blue silk tied in a bow over her wrist
he tugged at the knot and she looked away
he revealed her hand
wrapped in translucent gauze
missing three fingers
he thrust her hand in front of me
I saw the ivory-colored scar that held her palm together
he said in English:
is this enough identification for you
or do you need to see her card?
I handed her the money
and stole a look at her eyes
and sure enough
they matched her child's.