T.O. (Toronto, ON.)

My Soldier Dan

Dan dreams cool lemonade streams
sweet, fruity
always tart
pulpy sunshine baths
all renewing, as
he scrubs clean
death
Icy rocks in frosty glass
calms,
explosive torpedo head thoughts
In new morale, he
is free from poison vials
rusty blades
days gone
false accolades
war paint streaks
drips down, to
waiting pools
to fools
diluted dreams
hostile propaganda
he could care less, as he
squats in amniotic waters
reborn and aware, of
his paper moon
perfected in his bunker
all too soon
barefooted and naked, he
walks backwards on landmine greens
battlefield playground, and
takes quiet steps, to
his place beneath
the Magnolia tree

and reads his book

Mel Sarnese is a Toronto poet/writer/editor published in Canadian anthologies and literary journals. Her poems have been broadcast on the CBC and TVO. She has recently published a chapbook, ‘Leper’s Cave’ (Baret Days Press and The Poetry Society).