COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Alexander Martin Remollino

They say that all wars are bound to inflict
collateral damage.
This is what they say when queried
about the rising piles of non-combatant corpses
across the land.
No less than seven hundred all in all --
and all of these, they say,
are collateral damage.
So expect every war to take the heaviest toll
on the likes of Mylene and Raymond Golloso --
thirteen and nine years old, respectively,
who were shot to death in the sanctity,
in the sanctity of their parents' bedroom
by soldiers fighting a legitimate encounter
with ''rebel'' forces.
For as they say,
all wars are bound to inflict
collateral damage.