Poet-in-Residence is marking Armistice Day with a few words of his own. Modern war technology is a technical business. And today's war is a fast moving business. The Breaking News ticker must be constantly fed. That's another business. Artillery today is a whole new catalogue of funny business. The role of the soldier is rapidly changing. His main business is sitting around and mopping up.
bringing contradictory elements into play, like
being in a corner
of a web of deceit and lies
and in the fragility of the everyday
war simulation
reality would overwhelm
the mindset
its computer animations
contain nothing new
outside the cross-hairs
imposed on the conflict laden images
and the garbled green chatter
and the sights and sounds
of the shock and awe machine
designed not to unsettle the sensory
apparatus of those watching at home
but only of those on the receiving end
of the latest cutting-edge project
-ile
controlled from the sanctity
of the distant oceans
meanwhile
those to be embedded
reporters and journalists will chatter
to the watching world
from 5-star upper storey hotel windows
looking into the night skies
ablaze with glo-green ufo-lights
arriving
at alien angles
from where is the moon
"the everyday war simulation" is, to me, such a thought-provoking line, making me think of the individual fighting for his life, of an individual fighting for country, and of individuals fighting for government. Acts done in anticipation of war have such dire consequences, tsk tsk.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasure to have stumbled upon your blog. Looking forward to more poems. Cheers.
Welcome to my blog s.l.corsua! We do live in "thought-provoking" times. Today I read in a respected newspaper (no many left but one or two still keeping going) that a Supermarket manager in Sweden puts poison in foodstuff that is unsold and thrown away to prevent homeless people from stealing it from the waste bins. Today I gave an old pullover to a priest in a poor town in Bohemia so that he could give it to a homeless person this Winter. You'd think I'd given him €1,000 if you'd seen the look of in his eyes. I'm glad you enjoyed the poem and found it "thought-provoking". That's exactly what is needed today.
ReplyDeleteciao, Gwilym