Now the war is over; three wise men are coming to a pass —
I am good and you are bad,
the Swiss Cheese Cartel versus the Sinaloa Gang —
the same three jokers that started the war in the first place,
headed to the mother of all conferences;
peace has always been their retirement plan.
O medlars in human rights,
O sorb apples and open-arsed fruit,
we have to wait for the wolves to arrive.
One is coming from Bosnia, another from Niš, a third from Zagreb —
like Hannibal crossing the Alps,
only giraffes not elephants —–
the saddle bags are full of frankincense and diplomatic cables.
The man from Niš shouts at an aide.
He wants a leisure centre, a golf course, a sauna.
All the hotels are full.
Laurence O’Dwyer | The Linguistics of Deadly
Contents | Mudlark No. 75 (2023)