Lajes Poem by Nassy Fesharaki

Lajes

Start:
-‘is means is' and ‘was-was'

End:
-my writing is for me
-talks of my memory-recalling

Conclusion:
-most of the history
-is written by winners
-larger part falsified,
-we can say:
-"Half-truth is a lie."

Too large is my bag of memories
-of flights and trips

Great is Atlantic
-deep in time it takes me
-to ancient Atlantis
-and the days that remain
-but without a trace
-of island, continent
-with many stories
-and fables
-heroic
-and ships sunk
-like wars of
-The Persians'
-and Greeks'
-both bitter and sweet

To Lajes I had been
-many times
-had friends
-varied kinds…

Flew in, flew out
-but this one
-exception
-strange

Yom Kippur, Ramadan, October
-and the war
-the Arabs-Israel
-Nineteen and seventy three

We landed in Lajes AFB
-Terceira of Azores,
-Portugal, Atlantic

Came planes of US
-logistic all in all
-"C-5"
-"C-141"

Were many
-plenty
-were in rush
-no lunchbox

Couldn't write flight-plan
-fly out

"Israel won the war."
-writes, dictates history

In the books and on line
-no talk of those flights
-and US involvement
-unless one is aware
-in full and in detail

Saudis and oil-rich
-like the shah of Iran
-spent all the money
-to support Washington
-and flights of such kind
-enemy…Israel
-that fought them Saudis

Crazy it sounds, looks
-to support enemy in fighting
-and losing children shamelessly