…At the crossroads of assault and proceed,
with the sweat dirty gun grease of law machines,
amid thrill and lull, faithless young gods
inured to guts swill black smoke, uniformed,
flag-fetishistic do-good recruits who
brace for sanity’s sake (checkpoint!) sake (checkpoint!)
the creed of pluck for country and pluck for self
and die in the smithy of old gods’ desires…
They planned it. This, the goods your works produce.”
—Design at Mahmoudiya
