It's words, dear Margaret,

that create wars
and can never end them.

(Films don’t get it right,
People don’t scream.
There is silence
before the screaming starts.)

It is easy to write poems against war
bloodlessly.
In pus-weak protest, thus:

'Many have travelled far
to the place of fire and blackout,
the time without words.
Some have survived
though not intact.
No one comes back.'

*

Who rages against the Christian
worship of blood and torture,
the defeminisation of Woman
to the 'Virgin Mary',
holy, wholly-hidden, water-carrying
abandoned housewife ?

Against churches looming everywhere
inculcating ignorance and lies
and personal salvation ?

Against mind-shrinking, perversion-inducing
sexual taboos, etcetera etcetera ?

What does it matter whether there's a god or not ?
(Ever the divisive either/or!)

– Unless you're thinking of the Universal, Immutable,
Invisible God of War ?