A CORPORAL'S DEFINITION OF POETRY

The perfect summer's day.
The sky a postcard blue.

Hate distorted voices...faces
chanting: "STICK IT IN HIS GUTS!"

A lark ascending
throws itself against the vault of Heaven.

Only to be
rejected.

"...MAKE IT HURT...TWIST IT ABOUT
**** THE *****ING *******!"

God has a sick sense
of humour to have

bayonet practice
on such a perfect day.

The world whirlpools
down the plug hole

of Corporal 'Orrible's
almighty mouth.

He hates me because I
(Pt. Dempsey D. No. 835572)

am not showing enough
hate to **** a sandbag.

Sweat trickles down my spine
vertebra by vertebra.

The sandbag ***** the blade in
and won't give it back again.

I pull it out and fall
upon my derrière.

The sandbag bleeds sand.
Mocks my efforts

which displaces the book
I have about my person.

"What's this...what's this!"
Corporal 'Orrible hisses.

"A book, Corporal!"
"I can ****** well see it's a book!"

"A poetry book, Corporal!
IN PARENTHESIS by David Jones."

"In...in...wotsis do you think I'm
thick or wot!"

"Wot, Corporal?"
"Don't you wot me sunny Jim!"

His spit
peppers my face.

"There isn't enough white space
around the words for it to be a poem!"

"That's not an accurate definition
of a poem, Corporal!"

He froths at the mouth
tears it in half...throws it over his shoulder.

"Why you impudent little pup!
*** that rifle up...up....up!"

He runs me around the training ground
three times and then three times.

Later I go back and find
only half of it.

The half I have already read.
A sheep is nibbling it.

But like the Corporal it isn't
to his taste.

Over 40 years go by and
here I am an ex-army man.

Finishing the second half of
Jones' IN PARENTHESIS.

Remembering all too well the hell of
running 'round the training ground

three times and then three times
with my rifle up above my head.

Oh the agony of bearing arms.
Remembering too never to argue

with a corporal's definition of
poetry during bayonet practice.