1 Poem by Les Wicks

The Raptures of the Weapon

 We, the onlookers hover & howl

but the packets of death fly free ignoring all.

Without gravity or guilt, could

a life could be like this?


We share it, an almost obligatory joy as

light pirouettes within the CPUs

& drones circle targets.

Missiles must fly.


Oiled & polished, the gun longs

for the caress of its trigger.

Knife-hilts are engraved

with their prayers of purpose.


Each killing thing has its destiny

while I am nothing much, dodged

the whetstones for decades.

So by a rutted trail watch this


malice-free desecration with an unhealthy interest.

I admit it has a dire beauty

& there is an art

deep in any despoil.


There is a relationship, the intent

& the target. Fire & steel,

remote detonations, the casual coupling.

Narratives are annealed.


Amongst the mortars & swords

words too have been sharpened to maim.

Last summer I bled & the wound refused to seal.

But have I too laid waste across this warfare called living?


Perhaps this is DNA stuff, small predators like me,

lacking fang or claw, we also scratch plans. Aspire to savagery.

But pleased to say with little result. Across this imperfect life

I have failed at that clean certainty that lubricates the greater hates.


Bionote

Over 40 years Wicks has performed widely across the globe. Published in over 350 different magazines, anthologies & newspapers across 28 countries in 15 languages. Conducts workshops & runs Meuse Press which focuses on poetry outreach projects like poetry on buses & poetry published on the surface of a river. His 14th book of poetry is Belief (Flying Islands, 2019).