Nice Butchery

Photo by Kyle Mackie on Unsplash

Halal and Kosher
Ritual means of slaughter
Such savage butchery.
I swallow my frustration
Stick a smile upon my face
Make a face to meet
The faces that I’ll meet
Pretending neat and tidy
As we do. Replete. When inside
We are a shocking shade of blue.
Blues hit the spot, all colors drain away,
Fade into this unholyday.
I stagger from hour to hour
Meet my match in the oncology
Ward. She tells me I’m OK-ish,
I’m just a little tired, it is to be expected.
Inside appalled I am
That the world is full of evil:
Beheading in a church doorway
An unholy trinity:
Three knives, a single scripture, unalloyed butchery
This world is cold and frighteningly bereft of love.