Slaughterhouse Five: A Found Poem

No art is possible without a dance with death.
But the burning never stops hurting
and all there is to say is,
"I know. I know. I know."

So it goes.

A planet that has been engaged in senseless slaughter
must be the terrors of the universe.
How can planets live at peace
when there is free will?

So it goes.

They all want dignity.
Yet the main effect of war is that people
are disconnected from being
characters
and there will always be wars because
they are as easy to stop as
glaciers.

So it goes.

Everything is supposed to be quiet
after a massacre,
and it always is.
Except for the birds.

POW-TEE-WEET?


Composed by: Nomi Duech, Crystal Austin, and Sara Waxman
STHS, April 1999