These Weak Shoulders
these arms lift boulders the size of train cars
these eyes pierce to the bottom of the ocean's trenches
these ears ensnare the nothings of desert lovers
these legs out chase fighter jets
these weak shoulders carry the world...
between my teeth catch tank rounds
between my hands clasp mortar fire
with my tears extinguish burning cities
with my voice shore up breaking walls
with these weak shoulders carry the world...
when the heart believes then stones become feathers
and fighter jets become butterflies
and bullets nothing but autumn leaves
and the world becomes a grain of sand
and these weak shoulders carry the world...
copyright © Brian E. Langston
published in Poems Against War: A Journal of Poetry and Action, Volume 6 (Wasteland Press, 2007)