Monday, March 22, 2010

SERVICE

a documentary poem
by Ian Demsky



Mamallo explained that he was previously
in the US Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq.

He stated that he had to kill an entire family
while he was there and now has significant
problems dealing with his actions in Iraq.

Mamallo said that he decided to help
the dead girl’s family because he thought
it would help him get over the guilt
he feels about his own actions.

He denied that he ever jumped over any walls
and said that he is always respectful
when he visits the cemetery.


Ian Demsky, a longtime investigative newspaper journalist, often draws from public records to help make visible what J.G. Ballard called the "invisible literatures" of our society.  He is enrolled in the MFA program at the University of Idaho.
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