By Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes
Cities Have Scars
Cities have scars
war wounds
that maim walls of viscera
neighborhoods live with
long after
the instruments of infliction
are dust
Cities have scars
decapitated domes
cauterized arteries
bearing witness to gain’s loss
Cities have scars
fractures open and closed
abrasions cosmetically dressed
festering with infections
after armies are ghosts
and fortune’s flags
fallen
Cities have scars
visibly worn as reminders
that precision bombing isn’t precise
and surgical strikes
are targets of opportunity
sweeping
the untreated production of poverty
under carpets of napalm and cigar smoke
Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes was born and raised in San Diego, California. He attended Herbert Hoover High School and went on to study Religion and Theology at the University of San Diego. His book Intimate Geography, published by Ragged Sky Press, won the 2012 San Diego Book Award for Poetry. Ish, as he is known, has also written lyrics for German musicians Andrea Hörkens and Thomas Roderburg (Tender Art).
Latest posts by Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes (see all)
- Word’s Out | Geo-Poetic Spaces - December 14, 2018
- Political Love Affair | Geo-Poetic Spaces - December 7, 2018
- Deer Tracks | Geo-Poetic Spaces - November 30, 2018
