Amy, let’s play war.

Amy,

The last time I met you
You said —
Let’s play war.
My tank and your gun,
No shining sun.

You said we could become prisoners of the snow.

White phosphorus
Grey graphite and lead.
Let’s pencil the living
Their dread.

Oh! How we can write, what we can take.

Your boots on leaves
and my shoes in mud.
Our hearts in slush
Our lust wouldn’t slake.

Amy,

Let’s play war
With flowers and twig
For a ribbon on our chest.

Let’s rip the cord for Beirut and Kyiv.

Let’s play war
Like doves in the sun.
My gun on yours
Making out, in mushroom cloud.

Red, redstone
Love gone to sleep, in dust.
Where our fathers have been
Now cold, now dead.

Amy —

Let’s play peace
With sunflower seeds.
Sting like a ray,
Killers in a ricochet.

(for my dear friend, Amy Marley)

Flowers of Ukraine — Nitu; Image created behind a digital wall; the author assumes responsibility for the provenance and copyright.