In support of refugees

Poem by John, posted by Tracy


Graphology Heuristics 87: the breakdown of empathy — non sequiturs

The machine smooths the surface
of the gravel road so altered by the blast
of rain: the ‘hill-effect’ in a district
where refugees are damned
in town halls and on t-shirts.

As government and opposition vie
for more dehumanising ways
to treat ‘boat people’; the ground
beneath privileged feet, their islands
in the sky, their moon’s surveillance

drops its cloak-and-dagger motto —
‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’ —
since that’s too risky to let in through
the dust left from holes in the ground,
the ore ships passing hulks and wrecks,

sticking to trade routes, buoyant on
Plimsoll’s blood, drops in the ocean.


John Kinsella