Tuesday 13 October 2015

chain of sin and expiation




Our life is a chain of sin and expiation controlled by a destiny that cannot be understood - Josef Goebbels

man's war 
machine
is on 
the screen
in breaking 
propaganda 
news 
with a clean 
cut 
man 
embedded 
for pay 
to input
and output
the data live 
and the data dead
as received 
and not 
received 
about 
the cruising thing 
now 
on 
its blasted way
to 
paint the sin
by 
numbers 
its cross hairs
expiating 
on the screen 
that is 
unless 
the screen 
blacks out
as it is apt 
to do 
and 
suddenly 
we all return
to the current 
expert 
bath chair  
general
star of the glory show
a salami theorist on the chain of death  
curiously eager
with airbrushed 
candour 
to pronounce 
the score to date 
that is 
the current score
this side of truth
as you will see
my son
he quietly coughs
off mike
into cupped hand 
to be interrupted   
by village women 
who found 
a boy
who was undone
by fire of the friendly kind
hard destiny 
and yet 
there was just one truth
a truth reported
in the heat of it 
that may hide the truth 
the cold collateral truth
about the drone 
about the dawn 
when it 
exploded
in a place of dust and sand 
upon 
a blurred gray square 
that was a kindergarten 
school 
or perhaps 
a children's hospital 
in someone else's land 
in someone else's  
ruined land 
upon the map 
upon the right 
split 
of the screen 
 the harmful 
elements were long gone 
and another box 
was ticked
and so it goes 
for god is with us
and not with the sinners
as it is writ
in the holy book
praise be to him  
who leads us  
to victory 
in all 
man's wars
in him we trust
again in spite 
of pain
amen 






7 comments:

  1. You have it.
    A pitiful world where compromise is unknown.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Heron. The only sign of comprise is compromising evidence which is generally covered up.

      Delete
  2. Just about the most depressing poem I have ever read - but every word of it true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Depressing to read and depressing to write. The only bright spot on the horizon the flare of a so-called intelligent weapon.

      Delete
    2. Nothing much changed since Goya's day.

      Delete
  3. stairs above
    the 'cities of the plain'
    brighter steps

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the rainbow promise
      had nothing to say
      about depleted uranium

      Delete

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