Armistice Day

After the rifles and tanks pull out

And the final dust settles on the broken eggshell

That was once the theatre or municipal swimming pool

The landmines sit in waiting for the unsuspecting,

Ready to scatter confetti like flesh at a wedding.

And there is silence as if for the first time;

It echoes through the alleyways

Then in the distance, a hammersound

Pounds its intent into a brand new beginning.

A door without a house swings in the wind.

Photographs and belongings are scattered;

A wedding ring, one shoe and a letter.

Trinkets now, of no use to anyone wishing to rebuild

Just memories of those that no one remembers

Just things lucky enough to escape the fires.

But this was not war

And my body still carries the scars

My mind endures the trauma

And my best friend was blown to bits

And I never got to hold her as she died

And nobody won

And I’m still trying the impossible task of accounting for the losses

Yet the looters and guerrillas have moved in already

The resistance has disbanded

This was not war

And there is emptiness, as if for the first time.

It ricochets off the walls,

In the distance, a sound,

Pounding its intent.

A door without a house swings

But nobody wins

Nobody wins