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a Blackhawk or an Apache. In fact, no one seems to notice 25 5
the casualty collection center Doc High marks out
in ceiling fans, aisle 15. Wounded Iraqis with IVs
sit propped against boxes as 92 sample Paradiso fans Brian Turner
hover in a slow revolution of blades.
The forklift driver over-adjusts, swinging the tines 30
until they slice open gallons and gallons of paint,
Sienna Dust and Lemon Sorbet and Ship’s Harbor Blue
pooling in the aisle where Sgt. Rampley walks through —
carrying someone’s blown-off arm cradled like an infant,
handing it to me, saying, Hold this, Turner, 35
we might find who it belongs to.
Cash registers open and slide shut
with a sound of machine guns being charged.
Dead soldiers are laid out at the registers,
on the black conveyor belts, 40
and people in line still reach
for their wallets. Should I stand
at the magazine rack, reading
Landscaping with Stone or The Complete
Home Improvement Repair Book? 45
What difference does it make if I choose
tumbled travertine tile, Botticino marble,
or Black Absolute granite. Outside,
palm trees line the asphalt boulevards,
restaurants cool their patrons who will enjoy 50
fireworks exploding over Bass Lake in July.

Aisle number 7 is a corridor of lights.
Each dead Iraqi walks amazed
by Tiffany posts and Bavarian pole lights.
Motion-activated incandescents switch on 55
as they pass by, reverent sentinels of light,
Fleur De Lis and Luminaire Mural Extérieur
welcoming them to Lowe’s Home Improvement Center,
aisle number 7, where I stand in mute shock,
someone’s arm cradled in my own. 60
The Iraqi boy beside me
reaches down to slide his fingertip in Retro Colonial Blue,
an interior latex, before writing
T, for Tourniquet, on my forehead.

13
Copyright © 2021 by Bedford, Freeman & Worth High School Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample chapter.
Distributed by by Bedford, Freeman & Worth High School Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.

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