When you write a history essay,
you have to write in the past tense
because it’s done, over and all you can do
is learn from the past
mistakes of ancestors

but beauty’s in the detail,
not the way white old men think of countries
not in the way we remember the 1982 Lebanon War as defence

what about the little girl who wanted to fight
or the little boy who left his dog at home
(it’s only temporary, mantra mantra mantra)
starstruck lovers divided by war

(i’ll be home before you know it sweetheart
trust in The Lord)

family dinners during Yom Kippur
God bless you,
Holy, holy, holey.
the rattatat tat of a little drummer boy.

the key takeaway of every essay:
Don’t trust the British: they fuck everything up