Empire Building, by Julie Rutherford

Empire Building

I don't want to see
Your medals
Or letters from Churchill
Praising your bravery
And saying
What a fine man you are   I don't want to remember
That packed church
At your funeral;
Of the Admiralty
Respecting you,
Others, in praise, remembering you   The speeches from the pulpit
"What a distinguished man.."
And islands named after you in the Antarctic,
I don't want to hear
Any more lies
When behind the net curtains,
It was razor blades
And broken lives

poems.one - Julie Rutherford

Julie Rutherford