I Want George W. Bush

to live in palestine / afghanistan / iraq
not as the president
but a father
anxious to hear his daughter's
next breath
i need him
to feel shuddering metal and stone
to cringe at the long whistle
crash of a bomb
as it shatters the skyline
would he recognize
the smell of burning flesh
would he clench his fists
to keep his hands from trembling
would he quiet the hiccupping cries
of a neighbor's child
too young to pray in words?