Another Mournful Emoji In The Pipeline

 

and a few coins drop on and around him
gifts lobbed wingless hit..hit..hit..
oftentimes with so little warning
bronze/silver pebbles skim and dash the concrete flags
dully flash then land near his hat near his feet near his sign
his eyes unevenly fluttering open sting
hypervigilance snake and stalk his sleep..

a whispery thank you for your service
and he hates himself
hates himself that once-upon-a-time he also believed
he nods and drifts
some of his comrades still take their own lives
as do enemy comrades theirs
marionettes shed crocodile tears
pass on to posterity the collection tray
self-mythologising lies silvery scythes..

their voices and their faces
their voices and their faces..
are his..
thank you for your service
his slower suicide sips him away
one drink at a time
churns and within his throat burns and returns
their voices and their faces
their voices and their faces
ripple ripped..

some of the many fallen have yet to fall
only a matter of time
another facebook rip-post in the pipeline
a link to a favourite song
a mournful emoji to a martyr
thanks you for your service..

but never speak of..or..
such careless talk must never spill
you are tough so the so-called trauma will fade
you enjoyed travel and you must have learned a useful trade
so why not think of it that way
you can reintegrate..

their voices and their faces
their voices and their faces..
where..
he feels more kinship with those who walk past him
he feels helpless pity for the earnest younger men now deceived
the reprinted glossy brochures sew ideas
in pliable minds like dough to knead
for mourners to draw bead on rosaries
and to the roar of the deafening silence
the abandoned truth abducted missing in action
cast low with replenished buy-it-now trinkets
and for a widow a pension and a polished casket reflecting..

asked to move away for safety
as an urban gardener sprays herbicide on pavement weeds
he retreats further after a threat from a charlatan not to violate his patch
or run the risk of getting his face profoundly keyed
so he stumbles to the alleyway to the side of the store
and in the alcove for the bins he recedes and weeps..