Our tin wedding

between two worlds we build & marry
severing the traditional & the modern
we betray girls armed with diamonds
our aluminium hangs mispronounced
in the united states of ten year old tin
we stare dumbly at these swords they
handed out during rehearsal & dream
of the simplicity of kurosawa villagers
hiding their girls from samurai’s eyes
there i have said it now deified blade
& where do all my apologies go after
a memory that no longer exists except
in black & white movies & industries
based on coal slag heaps smelters ore
what’s left we call home even history
leaders betray their military boyhood
dreams now sadly irrelevant sheriff’s
deputies vying for the very emptiness
they’ve learnt nothing from the oldest
stories backs bent in protest as a wire
comes in from yours very truly on the
occasion of our anniversary saddened
me each day we must write the word
for peace & speak to me quickly this
world’s conversation has fallen silent
only gold dust can offer us an escape
from beneath yesterday’s fallen hero