Who Is Funding Them? Poem by Nassy Fesharaki

Who is funding them?
Thinking of long trip; for a month
My hair's long; and I sit for haircut
And barber, as always
Preacher, diplomat and doctor
He's tired, so am I
But we talk
Talk of day; act of planes
In Gaza, in Ukraine
And the bombs
And killing all around
But mainly in Iraq

"Who funds them? "
That's an end, full stop.

Tape rewinds
Restarts

"What's his name? "
"Baghdadi, Abu Bakr"
He asks and, I reply.

"He was with CIA."
He tells me. I recall:
"See you in New York."
That is what US says.

In the early 30s; around it
Landed in US, men of great
As sixties' John Lennon
CIA and its past
Had files on Sergey Eisenstein
On Berolt; the Brecht
And El Che, Ezra Pounds

And of course Baghdadi
Some were forced to depart
Some ended in the cage, and some killed...
Why's around Baghdadi? My conscious keeps thinking.