A Poem Entitled Carnage
By Stella Hayes (American poet) March 2016, New York.
She asked me to write
About carnage
Which is also
The title of her school art opening
Closely defined
As
The killing of a large number of people
As in a battle
Fought by men & women who
Either enlist or are drafted to fight for a cause
For a sovereign or a rogue state
This is what we know
We are non-pros
We didn’t enlist
Or
Were recruited
Into a battle
Of his unmaking
A self-slaughtering of one
Instantly becoming an expelled
Breath of many
We swept the pavement
With shared skin
As exiles not
As warriors
The dictionary’s definition
Of carnage
Is the left-behind
Of
A catastrophic event
Either
Man-made or god’s
For more information regarding the artist or exhibition contact info@allabroeksmit.com