This poem is taken from PN Review 222, Volume 41 Number 4, March - April 2015.
A Captain’s Confession
His Brother’s Knife
He used his brother’s knife again –
but then he lost it. What he did is anyone’s guess.
Those boys caught five hares and a raven.
What will they do next?
Remember, human beings are mortal.
How did they learn to kill?
His sleep is the image of death –
but will he smile in death?
The streets in this town are dirty –
and the rain only adds to the stench.
The eyes of that girl are so blue –
I tell you, she’s our witness.
Why Didn’t You Sing Last Night?
She says the lilies smell of death,
of death and sorrow –
rank, rank –
But oh, the songs they hold within their throats!
She says the lilies smell of love,
...
He used his brother’s knife again –
but then he lost it. What he did is anyone’s guess.
Those boys caught five hares and a raven.
What will they do next?
Remember, human beings are mortal.
How did they learn to kill?
His sleep is the image of death –
but will he smile in death?
The streets in this town are dirty –
and the rain only adds to the stench.
The eyes of that girl are so blue –
I tell you, she’s our witness.
Why Didn’t You Sing Last Night?
She says the lilies smell of death,
of death and sorrow –
rank, rank –
But oh, the songs they hold within their throats!
She says the lilies smell of love,
...
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