lest we forget the forgotten

lest we forget

all those not white enough to be mourned for

those victims whose names you will never recite
body count sky high
sky could no longer hold them
so you tried to shrink their deaths
into numbers
statistics
dust
nothing

lest we forget

the countries where you have hidden your sins:

afghanistan, iraq, vietnam
nuclear ash on flander's fields
oil pipelines between the crosses
the dead still feel earth trembling
wondering when it will stop

lest we forget

opium wars
honoured with a blood stained poppy 

that you wear across your chest

a reminder of all those killed

by your imperialist tanks
a reminder of countless charred bodies 

who were denied life
worthless life
worth less life
lest we forget
who?
i'm trying to remember

the daughters of mohamed wazir:

masooma 

farida 

palwasha

nabia 

murdered while they slept
an entire generation
now shrouded in white
buried with their country

why do you say 

lest we forget

when they have already forgotten 

- Aysha