Too much, when I see the whip wound
these Americans inflict on purity.
I hate them dearly.
Forgive my words, if you have died.
I could not stay behind screens
When they paraded on our streets,
The lattice-work of sunlight
On my frightened eyes.
They humiliate me daily.
I have become a man.
If given the chance to atone
For my choice
Of leaving you-
You have been stripped by their baseness
as I am striped in their pens-
I would not open the door of our home
And run into a meaningless fate.
If I am freed, I will lock myself to you.

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Andrew Grossman's poem, "The Efficient Nurses of Florida" was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His work has been widely published and anthologized. Grossman's new book is 100 Poems of the Iraqi Wars, comprised of work from the Middle East, Israel and the United States. He resides with his wife, Nancy Terrell, in Palm Beach, Florida.