Last Dance

I don't often do political poems but i while ago I was into them. This one is in response to the massacres in East Timor, by the Indonesians towards the East Timorese in their struggle for independance.

 

he danced for you, yes? this strange

Jakarta man with the crooked smile

and broken face. strange how he dances;

twisting & flinging himself to the wind

& how he leans forward to c**k his rifle

into the warm kiss of your back

but barely touches you.

 

that day as both of you walked along the River

along the tall poppy grasses talking of a Vatican without a Pope,

the flies in Rwanda & the mysterious ways of Pol Pot.

(you wishing you had listened more) you could have been

friends except for the song he sings that stills you

passing the houses built from litho & butchers paper,

rustling & burning in the silence.

 

& so comes the time he prepares his dance

& you let your lungs congeal

along the syrup vine & you scream

what stings your face that sings

as cool as streams that move like streams

red with curves that buckle & brings

the silence he dances for you

in this land of thunder.

 

& so comes the time he prepares his dance

& you let your lungs congeal

along the syrup vine, & you scream

what stings your face that sings

as cool as streams that move like streams

red with curves that buckle & brings

the silence he dances for you

in this land of thunder.

 

& so comes the time he prepares his dance behind you.

you have enough time to tear off

your ears and gauge out your eyes

& wail like someone else’s child

& slip from your skin that moves not like skin

& drag your ears which are boxed in

& bleeding to the ground which is still silent & warm

and do nothing more

in this land of thunder

but listen.

Reviews

[Emily B]

It reads like a light, lyrical song. I was lulled by the slow, smooth dance. The stark contrast between the words and the rhythm were horrifying. It was such an effective way to tell the story. Like that moment right before tragedy that moves like a flash but seems to take days. I don't know that I could ever consider these words political. They are much more than just politics.

[rkm]

very powerful!

[Ken Simm.]

Incredible, just simply incredible.

[Raef C. Boylan]

Very lyrical...although maybe I'm just thinking that because the repeated stanza seemed like a chorus or bridge to my simple mind.
The impact increases on each read, which is a sign of something powerful.
Beautiful...fatally so.
I feel like reviewing this is cheapening it somehow. It's really good. I was right in the brush with them; sun pounding down and trgedy all around.
I'm normally not keen on "&" in poems unless it's shown to be necessary, but it works for you, here. Life is too short and precious to waste it writing "and" again & again.

Amazing language.
You were on form even in your political phase, friend.

Thanks for posting this.