Illustration by Dora O'Neill and Charlie Blodnieks
there is no harsher lesson
it is the whip
cracking in the air
and your eardrums splitting
and you – finally – turn your head
it is the daylight there
behind the gentle cloudbreak
at the aching start of day
a million mothers shrieking
and lifting a million sons onto a million knees
a million helpless, quivering sons