Submissions by Stanwardine

EMERALDS
(Colombia)


You demanded they remember you,
Peacemaker in a bloody green.

And certainly those jewels did belong to the nation,
But north of Bogota it was your world.

Mountains cloaked in jungle
Whispered a conspiracy of forbidden wealth.

You would not share it. Your mind an only child’s.
No compromise. You fought off

Conscience with hired guns, boys
From the district who loved you to death.

A favourite uncle, you slipped wads of pesos
To the cops and your politicos. Serrucho.

The final...

At the Primal Stage

First there was her,
The thudding of her blood.
He heard it
But does not remember.
A summons
Prodding him
Ever incisive
To make the passage
From there to here.


Then the passage itself
And the cord tight
The head swollen
The pincer thighs
Willing to crush
The monstrous thing.

After a day and a night
The host swooned
Then woke to hard loathing.
The thing squealed
A raging need.
Hunger for life.

So much for love
At the primal stage.