2015 10 – Strident (poem)

STRIDENT

 

I make torture equipment for the

Saudis

tasers for out-of-order rowdies

tanks that killed Iraq

bayonets commando knives human flesh

to hack

shells to finish-off resistance

in Afghanistan

drones with immediate execution

being the plan

I made the H-Bomb

never heard of the Rosenbergs

ignore the Japanese maelstrom

bullets by the billions

guided missiles on fighter planes

riding pillion

and it was those nuclear submarines

I built

that bought my housing dream

and Trident will build an extension

and contribute to my pension

every hellfire missile pays the bills

every bomb dropped sees my family

eat their fill

every machine-gun a bowl of cornflakes

for the armaments skilled

I don’t go to the coffee shops of North London

for an academic debate

it’s down the pub to share the joys of a

macho-warrior state.

 

Wilson John Haire.