After the flags fall down

They come out of sun bright stone buildings
put their black cake on the ground before us.

Their children have rags for friends
& mossy shoes
to travel to the broken eyed factory.

A naked flagpole in the town square
shadows thin dust; ropes
ring on hollow metal breezes.

By my own admission
I squint at their shiny breastplates as they march past.

I too want to kill for old men to die surrounded by lap dogs
& richly woven blankets.

Yet: when the horizon takes them
takes them & puts them in a crack of the Earth
crushes them to red sand...

my very last leg is still;
I place only a paper pebble in the widow basket.

David Rizzi is a poet / drummer / composer living in Seattle. He reads, performs, and facilitates poetry workshops around the Pacific Northwest. David was the winner of the 1st WordStorm Poetry Competition held on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and a winner of the 2008 Jeanne Lohmann Poetry Prize. He currently performs with a musical / poetry collaborative group, Band of Poets.

His first poetry collection, vibrant city of Bones, came out in 2006. Since then, he has published two other collections: Conversations with Jack, and Declaration. His latest project is a five volume epic tale that deals with a succession of physical and spiritual journeys, and eccentric adventures told from multiple perspectives.