
Look at you, all dressed up pretty 
spit polish shoes, iron pressed hair 
ribbons and medals 
and gold topped buttons 
behind a perspex frame –
can you be a weapon for change ?
—– 
Metal birds map the skies 
controlled by desk execs,
in starchy shirts, with land -grab eyes 
chimp-hands clapping at every missile fired. 
——- 
On sunken ground, a bank of thickening red gravy 
sun bubbles heating 
meat and muscle; 
spilling guts, scabbing brown –
a trophonian wilderness, 
heated terror on misshapen iron…
down down dicks in the dirt 
shooting fish ‘till it hurts 
—– 
Hero’s flag 
draped across a body bag 
a ten gun salute 
a valley of tears 
and a white gloved handshake 
is all that remains.
Saira Viola
Illustration: Elena Caldera

Woke up to this . Vicious poetry like Sid , subversive , shocking and real . I am totally turned on to this kind of poetry . The Imagery is mind blowing and the accompanying art stuns . More of this please 🙂
Comment by Jenny bergman on 21 April, 2016 at 8:07 amIt’s an interesting bit of poetry; and it grabs attention…… A lot of truth spoken in a few words and hard to believe that it was written by such a young person. (There’s so much vision there.)
Comment by Mal Samuel on 21 April, 2016 at 8:43 am