Tags
HIGH COMMAND
Tasha
will soon be five
smart little girl, look
into those eyes
and you might see
hope for humanity
she sidles up next to me
eyes gliding to my laptop screen
am running
a YouTube video telling
the tale of
Christmas 1914
men stumbling towards each other
sharing their meager comforts,
trying to
cross linguistic barriers, navigate
potential minefields
their long-range, bolt action
Lebels, Mausers, Lee-Enfields
shoulder-
slung
which huge guns
shock a little girl who
has never seen
does not know
this thing
beyond her comprehension
beyond anyone’s comprehension
this
thing that resists all
rational explanation
telling me
“someone had better run
and call the police!” “these men
with guns, the police must come
take their guns and arrest them”
the men, whoever they were, under
those uniforms suddenly beating
the hearts of angels
angels
who know all too well what
might happen to them, should
the law be policed, as it soon would be
the law
of death
and of High Command.