SELWYN PRITCHARD
Bloody Metaphors
Spoiled sacrifices:
ranked generations grinning
in the dim arcade .
Deadweight dads, tough lads
("Ga llipoli." "Singapore.")
part of Empire Trade.
Thistle, thrush, lark: Home
transplanted but
still
elsewhere .
Beyond death? Sepia smiles.
They made a garden
of Eden: paddocks, Maoris squared,
killing chains taut.
Tribute's yet paid in
commonplace atrocities -
lam.bs jolt by like J ews.
Bloody Metaphors!
"Take eat," grunts Te Ruapraha
at Tenderkist Meats.
Above gum-pocked streets
the moon melts like certainty
in the morning sky.
