The tadpole buoyant as basalt
The seahorse horsing in $$#ault
The owlet in his greenery

The narwhal in his cup of sea
They all believe
They all believe


But collusion bleeds through back alleys
From parapets that end on feet

When one is weak they discretely meet
They throw the bones into the street
And they progress

And we retreat

And all the books our fathers wrote

Are in the middle of the road
Little by little, we implode
History brittle, brown and broke

We can't remember what was spoke
So we stare in wonder at the smoke
What it begets is born alone

We know not now what we have known

Ladies, breathe deep against your whalebones

For your children come home made of stone

The terror seething sees a way

Or like the wheezing of the bay
In miniature agonies
They travel westward on the breeze

Bring us all to our knees

The dappled horse, the sorrel mare

With eyes that do not see but stare
Beneath boots as black as malachite
He drives the nag into the night

Into the night

And all the baby boys we've born

With eyes averted from the storm
Sent off to die in perfect form
We know now what we have known


Satellite photos rhetoric
See how the euphemisms stick

And when they come back broke and burned
Those who return have no return