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In memory of Sergio Vieira de Millo

( UN Representative in Iraq assassinated in 2003)

Once upon a time of alienation
A woman appeared as if from all the continents
She lived in Brazil, traveled to Hong Kong,
Slept on the plains of Asia
A woman from the mythology of the past
Followed by shadows, music, incense
Welcomed by rice feasts and rituals
She gave birth to boy who belonged to the world
De Millo came to Arachid Street
Followed by barbed wire
And army binoculars
The land was awakened by fear
And slept with ghosts
And the politicians` pile of trash grew bigger
De Millo made his way through the crowds to see for himself
And declared: here is a utopia for those who feel strangers in their own land
He drank many bitter coffees
Looking at the nights of Baghdad he saw
No lovers, no flowers, no love poems of Abi nawas
No poetry of Alrasafi, no Almeidan Square, no cinema lights
De Millo made a map of Iraqi sadness
He swam in the marshy waters
He flew with the geese above it
He marked the borders of suffering
He followed the barbed wire and the binoculars
De Millo came back with a wreath of jasmine
Painted a people`s utopia in the shape of Iraq
De Millo bore the burden under the ruins, fire and bullets.