Nuremberg 5

Unashamed tears, a tributary
    rivers run grey without a sun
    banners unfurled in cardamom
    reflect an orphaned moon

Nuremberg, your clenched smile
    your rendered face stained
    till there were no trace of love
    cacophonic, bitter gall

Nuremberg by the Regensberg
    rejected Adolf stronghold
    rejected of unwashed regret
    clear Messershmitt skies

Allies to a spurned sacrifice
    old as the black trees with
    woodpecker notes stapled
    glummest scenery of war

Out of darkness rose a phantom
    poisoned cheeked flattery
    one honest wolf spoke
    of how far we may have fallen

Nuremberg, your gold epaulets
    your rain turned red
    would that Saint Augustine
    had held you in his arms

Soft virtue departed as crowds
    gathered at your Zeppelin
    to hear hollow voices
    of demon and denial

Oh unholy relics the edicts
    peoples choose to subjugate
    garner and appropriate
    their rhetorics of shame

Nuremberg’s quality of atrophy
    undenied, belies constancy
    human grievance lies
    mutilates beneath your streets

Unrevenged, relentless catastrophe
    burrows deep inside the fig
    awaiting fruit fly implosion
    which inevitability decrees

Old the testament of apology
    none surrender power
    except the word contains untruth
    God’s nature is revealed

In skirmishes of Hezbollah
    Hamas strikes the golden city
    in Nuremberg, Bahrain or Oslo
    words fried cheap potato

Besmirched of my laurel leaf
    my olympic quarter drawn
    I chastened do not reply
    goodnight to Vienna

Nuremberg you stand for nought
    I cannot wonder why
    in the heart of Bavaria
    witchy dark the eagles fly