from my poem "Broken Bird Cage"

The cheeks, a whisper of forgotten love,

Tattered white, a flag of surrender not

Followed; gunshots fired at no one, at

Carnage of wood and metal; Burnt cloth,

Nothing, singled out with a lead pill,

Blue-grey smoke, rust, rust, singed bars,

Blood coursing, right through the heart,

Bloodied lips, crimson snowflakes upon

Flames licking the remnants, curling skywards,

From sealed gates of silence, dripping.