Bitter as the Cud

They who save lives can never understand how they are taken. Tide pull of khaki men

& rigid ammo belts so anti-cummerbund. Quick as dance steps, counter-sprung floors

of golden sand, death’s a stage trapdoor for most, nurses, soldiers & salt coffins soak

up jungle’s exhausted heat. Stay dead by your sisters till the sun’s blood pressure drops.

We want (you) as a new recruit.

Live to tell the tale. Escape, be captured again, keep the secret inside you in utero.

Let history write you out, become someone’s footnote in his or her thesis & pass.

Decline that Australian beach obsession.