by Joseph Aprile
Collateral damage,
what exactly is it?
Is it a rock band,
perhaps heavy metal,
some obscure
auto insurance term
itemizing what’s not covered
in case of an accident
written in miniscule print,
a mistake a surgeon might make
in the midst of a delicate operation,
those individuals
indirectly injured from the
side effects of a nasty divorce,
debris left over from an
overzealous football game?
Collateral damage,
what exactly is it?
The stupefying carnage,
the chaos and mayhem that
accompanies ferocious and brutal violence,
the torrential flow of blood spewing from
shattered and broken bodies
separated from the yolk of the living,
the pungent odor released from
myriad corpses strewn upon fields of
overwhelming death,
the instantaneous incineration of entire families.
Horrific and bountiful products of murder
cannot be expunged by the simple application of
innocuous words in a vain attempt to
circumvent the reality of
such depravity.
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ABOUT THE POET ~
I am a published author and artist. I am a resident of Seattle, Washington. I was raised in the Bronx, New York, in an exceedingly diverse environment that had a profound effect on my view of the world and humanity., In addition to my published works (http://lvau.com), my work has appeared in literary magazines, anthologies and on the Internet. I have a diverse professional background encompassing education, the sciences and technology., Writing and Art have always been an integral part of my creative life and telling stories through words and images the avenue through which I examine the dimensions of the human spirit. If there is an underlying theme in my work, it is to explore the many facets of the human experience.
Last updated June 29, 2011