Our credibility hinges on the use
Of swift and massive Lethal Force!²
As if the only choice we have left is
How to Die—and we want to die in a Fight.³
A natural, healthy channeling of aggressive instincts—
Into acts of Senseless Violence.⁴
Wherever you find knots of men
You will find the Charisma of Violence.⁵
All over the world, everybody strikes
At the enemy—and the Pain escalates.⁶
Craving a Violent Awe—
Numb to all else.⁷
In the wake of Impossible Violence,
Language fails us, and speech becomes
A kind of Babbling outside of the known …⁸
The most painful part of beatings
Are the Insults which they imply.⁹
Violence leaves a Mark on the
Face that the eye cannot miss.¹⁰
¹ Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sounds
² Drew Swinger, Sonnet for Brett Foster
³ Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
⁴ Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
⁵ C.D. Wright, Count Your Notches
⁶ Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart
⁷ Denise Levertov, Airshow Practice
⁸ Chase Berggrun, Mostly His Apocalyptic Star Glitters Wondrously
⁹ Viktor E. Frankl tr. Ilse Lasch, Man’s Search for Meaning
¹⁰ Tayeb Salih tr. Denys Johnson-Davies, Seasons of Migration to the North