20 Sinner’s Song
for the bones of soldiers,
who won’t leave,
who never wanted to be there.
For the factory
that lured the bones of soldiers,
the bones of the soldiers of
propaganda,
of the poorest class, of abusive fathers,
for the bones of the soldiers
of machines of war,
for the bones of the soldiers
that continued to choose to fight
for arrogant bones, guilt-ridden bones,
russian bones, american bones,
for all that remains of the indebted,
their bones,
begging us to see
the mistake that they made, those
ordinary men.[1]
who won’t leave,
who never wanted to be there.
For the factory
that lured the bones of soldiers,
the bones of the soldiers of
propaganda,
of the poorest class, of abusive fathers,
for the bones of the soldiers
of machines of war,
for the bones of the soldiers
that continued to choose to fight
for arrogant bones, guilt-ridden bones,
russian bones, american bones,
for all that remains of the indebted,
their bones,
begging us to see
the mistake that they made, those
ordinary men.[1]
- Based on Lucille Clifton's "Sorrow Song." ↵