We sweep

brushstrokes in ink

Up to down, left to right,

right to left



We scribble to ease

This deafening silence

Cemented between decrees



We write of crying children

and broken promises

thinly veiled



of fathers that never come home

and Absolut being flushed down

shot by shot

Merlot too

Although in the sewers

it doesn’t really matter



We write of death and love

freedom

Michael Jackson

lipstick

rock n’ roll



Penless

Penniless

Paperless



Carved up, left to dry

We write in blood



We’re dangerous men.

Threats.



Looks like Scheherazade’s lifeline

Is our demise



Because our strongest words

Don’t leave our mouths

But are carried by servants

In grimy alleys

And aren’t shouted

But whispered

In cheap cigarette voices



They float to scraps of paper

And fly from lowered terraces

On kite strings

Coated in glass



Then hush.



Because stick or stone can break a bone

But words can break a kingdom.