Shaker Aamer

PJ Harvey

Compositor: PJ Harvey

"No water for three days.
I cannot sleep, or stay awake.

Four months hunger strike.
Am I dead, or am I alive?

With metal tubes we are force fed.
I honestly wish I was dead.

Strapped in the restraining chair.
Shaker aamer, your friend."

In camp 5, eleven years.
Never charged. Six years cleared.

"They took away my one note pad,
And then refused to give it back.

I can’t think straight, I write, then stop.
Your friend shaker aamer. Lost.

The guards just do what they’re told,
The doctors just do what they’re told.

Like an old car I’m rusting away.
Your friend, shaker. Guantanamo bay."

Don’t forget.