War Poetry

Silence (over Manhattan)

A black September shadow cloaks the dawn,
The City’s once white teeth now rotting stumps,
Midst choking dusty embers ether-borne,
Its shrunken soundless heart now barely pumps.
Infernos upon retribution rise,
Fanaticism maddening the flames,
Its once imposing deities abscise,
As the faceless antagonist proclaims:
A consummation sweet but unfulfilled,
A penetrative burst without regret,
A zealous passion never to be stilled,
An earthly instinct powerful, and yet -
This bitter loathing blowing from the East,
Curtailed but could not kill the feisty beast.

by Paula Bardell