On a Train Carrying Troops to the Front

On a Train Carrying Troops to the Front

friends of fellatio
are impeached
while liars living large
dance a wicked dance

trolls with
fading memories hide
under every bridge
clickety-clack

soldiers pass pints
of courage
counting the future
dead, never seeing
bullets with their names

trolls gnaw
the bridge supports
shit beneath the tracks
clickety-clack

generals travel
in other ways
avoid a name
to grieve, never
remember a face

trolls devour
children in a foul
stew, reeking of
roasted futures
clickety-clack

crowds stand and cheer
for whatever reason
they are told, upon
returning home they
find their children gone

trolls remove
spikes securing
the rails, because
a dead man does
not tell
clickety-clack

Randolph Nesbitt

Posted over on Poets Against The War