A Bahraini boy takes part in a demonstration against the killing of a Shiite protester during clashes with Bahraini police, on February 22, 2013 in the village of Daih, West of the capital Manama. (Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images) found via WoDu Media
twelve years old
we went into
battle on our BMX bikes
a mounted cavalierly
of pubescent white boys
out to fuck the
world
not long after
leaving the safety of our fort
we saw the enemy in
the distance
they were armed with
2x4s wrapped in
barbwire
2x4s with protruding
rusty nails
most of us felt like
re-treating
even if no one
verbalized this
then
one of us
i can't remember who
picked up a giant
rock
and yelled
a death curdling
war cry
i momentarily
pretended i didn't hear it
but the offensive had
begun
and could not be
called into retreat
onwards we charged
as a unified unit
we would not be
intimidated
even though
secretly, we were all shitting our underpants
the enemy, far too
hastily re-treated bare-foot into the labyrinth of their dusty village
we felt invincible
but the worrier in
me, played out other outcomes in my over-active mind
from then on we
feared not sneaking into their territory
for cheap burgers
and shawarmas
forbidden sweets
and bicycle parts
here we are
try and say something
about it boys!
one night the enemy
launched a surprise attack
and stole my bicycle
you don't steal a
twelve year old's bicycle
so i went into the
village
frothing
looking for blood
but i couldn't find
them
once i saw two of
our enemy holding hands
boys holding hands i
thought, what's this?
hey, gay boys!
gay boys! are you a
couple?
are you romancing?
bummers!
they calmly walked
away but i knew there would be retribution
a fight was
organised
i preferred
spontaneous fights
but, oh well
a location
some ground rules
and a time
given that both
sides
broke the ground
rules
the fight never
kicked off
and life went on
until one day i was
ambushed
by an effort at reconciliation
an outstretched
brown hand reaching for my own
stubbornly i refused
and was thusly
punched in the face
this was the punch i
had been waiting for
and so we fought
finally
after all
that time
the outcome doesn't
matter
soon the berlin wall
would come down
while more
impenetrable walls were built up between us and the enemy
there were no more
cheap shawarmas and bike parts
undercover missions behind their lines, deep into
their village were replaced by
sanitized times in
fortressed compounds, segregated beaches and exclusive clubs
however, nearly a
man
on more than one
occasion i stumbled drunk through their territory
still looking
but i never found them
and now i think of
lungfuls of tear gas
i think of brothers
in prison without charge
i think of denial of
their most basic rights
i think of torture
beatings
disappearances
and i wish we were
still fighting our stupid little war
-For the Shi'a Youth of Bahrain August 2013
