(no subject)

[penguinboy.livejournal.com]

End of the Century
by Stuart Dischell

i. Displaced Persons

Out on the street the children are playing soldier.
It's the end of the century and still they play soldier.
Let's be unfair. Blame them for the toasted corpses,
The orphans, widows, and amputees. One aims
A broomstick, another a plastic missile launcher,
And the little ones on the lawn roll over, "I'm dead,"
They say with joy, "I'm dead," "'Im dead," '"Im dead."

ii. She Stretched Her Young Body and Went Out

She stretched her young body and went out.
The trolley lines were bright in the sun.
Bees hovered on her dress pattern.
The flowers were of spectral colors.

She was still her parent's girl, living home,
Helping out. She was always the one. She believed
In her soul, in birthday parties, in feathers and drums.
She lived in every neighborhood. You saw her.

iii. Sarajevo Zoo

With two buckets of water he had gone to the cages.
It was early in the morning, the shelling had stopped.
In a tan windbreaker he had gone to the bears.
He made our target, this old man walking.