Monday, June 23, 2008

Detainee 002 (for David Hicks)

Detainee 002 is back
He’s wearing this jumpsuit like a tradie
and it’s a blood orange colour
like a day-glo explosion
in the gloom of the news at six

And there’s a pixelated stumble
cos he’s tripping down the stairs of the jet
short-shackled/ wrist to ankle
Detainee 002 is back
from Guantanamo Bay

But these new chains
are like the old chains -
rewind 1788:

sailing into focus
come 11 convict hulks
casing for a place
to start rendition

2 comments:

ScaughtFive said...

Slender nexus between past and present. Brutality coexists with the sublime. Good stuff here.

Jen Jewel Brown said...

Thanks Scaught. Back online after an eon-long outing thanks to reconnecting via BigPond. Appreciate your fine brain on this one.