fallen mantle of summer

deep slumber of trusting deserts -

palimpsests of bull thistle

August air singed with gunfire

clang of shell shocked clocks

hands ossified at twilight

raw metal of armoured tanks

treads trimmed with tar and bone

night skies abloom with photons

edges of frayed borders

dusty mirage of Basra

pallor of unarmed angels

cool balm of the Euphrates

thin lease of afterlife

erasure of name and home