March 28, 2022
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On the Bus Back Home: The Faceless Burqa
By Emilio Rodriguez
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On the Bus Back Home: The Faceless Burqa
By Emilio Rodriguez
Today, I sit a few feet away from the warmth of your breath.
The last time I saw you, you were hundreds of yards away.
Still, as I reflect, I remember you as vivid as yesterday.
We were outnumbered by thousands in that Valley of Death.
Not surprising your faceless burqa is the only one left.
Today, your Burqa is the same as the one worn a decade ago.
My body sweats and convulses as I step-back to these similarities.
Your hand and body gestures are just as divine today
as they were then.
I recall the chaos of hate and pain delivering their final blow.
Your bright-red lips poured out onto that third-world street,
Your skin laid out the pale colors of life-less-ness.
Today, I know you are not that woman.
Am I living this dream?
I wonder if you know what I am thinking.
Decades removed, we now sit face to face.
I can’t stomach to look in your direction.
The fear and guilt are too intense.
Anxious and sweating,
I wait for this episode to conclude.
Today, my staring makes you uneasy
What was going through your mind back then?
Did you see the flash or was it the tube of guided metal Incoming toward you?
Today, your eyes pierce my memory through those burning flames.
I close my eyes and hear the fire-cracked sounds of deafness,
These forever scars of life.
I wish someday to reconcile our distance,
To make an appeal for the fiery-hell I sent your way.
Today, I live the agony of that day,
Even though that someone was not you.
Today, that Burqa remains faceless, silent,
in that place that I once knew.
Emilio Rodriguez
Emilio R. Rodriguez is a combat veteran from the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has received a 90% disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Emilio now pursues his passion for writing, using this platform to discuss experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, and hopes to open a dialogue that would use creative writing as a vessel in unlocking its therapeutic power for other veterans. His deployed years as a Marine and US Army Infantry team leader have enabled a desire for him to help other veterans, all the while creating his own tangible therapeutic space.
Image Description: Emilio Rodriguez has a full, kind, tan face. His head is shaven and smooth.