Read Poem: WAR, by Sasha Dulerayn

The crystal bursts under the pressure
The sacred water turns to mould
The ropes of speech begin to tighten
The young grasshopper eats the old

In bright red cheeks and tear-drained pupils,
In curls of smoke under the skies
In teeth that rattle from emotion
The sludge and mould metastasise

A car drives wildly to the border
Inside – a raging heart, a soul, a life
The trees bear witness by the roadside,
The freezing air is thin and lithe.

A soldier sits down on a tree stump
The bark of which was cut by friends
He tunes his rifle to D Minor
And hears his brothers blasting lead

He feels the Earth resist his footsteps
He knows his mother’s at wits’ end
He plays the saddest D flat Minor
And shoots his brothers in their heads

The scabs of yesterday reopen,
Red rot of righteousness sets in;
The ropes of speech are made of ether,
They flourish deep under the skin.

We tug and lash them for catharsis
The inner crystal pays the price
And when the chieftain wants his honour
The young and old both crawl like lice

Even the orange fire tornadoes
Could not compare to plain, old war.
The car shrieks proudly past the border
That wraps the belly of the Whore.

– Sasha Dulerayn

Author: poetryfest

Submit your Poetry to the Festival. Three Options: 1) To post. 2) To have performed by an actor 3) To be made into a film. View all posts by poetryfest