15 April 2012
FIRING SQUAD
Like the viper in the bush
I can spit and scream
louder than you.
My tongue its glisten mass
is innocent
as the white riot
my face describes.
I’m tempered steel,
the nut and bolt arse
of sensibility and price.
And alive for so they say
kicking the dust
from under your feet,
grinding the ash
into the ground,
meeting my deadline
twisting my rope.
Calling,
are you here?
are you here?
are you there?
are you there?
But no…no
nothing.
The silent rebellion
has taken place,
the rust turns its
golden dust
and once again
mama pulls her
little trigger.
Nick Clarke 1981
Revised 2012
Firing Squad • Opuss № I