The Role of Sarin

by Kemmer Anderson / July 25th, 2021

I am Sarin, anonymous as air;
I creep invisible through the door.
On the battlefield I even the score.

I work best with breath to take my share
Of bodies unknowing that I am there.

My life is unmanageable as war
Though your conventions affirm: “Nevermore.”
Beware. I am the vapor of despair.

I serve men without conscience who use fear
To deliver their cold message of hate.
I am brewed with chemicals for your death.

I ride the red line to a city near
You, when the theater for terror and fate
Frees me to act on the audience’s breath.

Kemmer Anderson walks his dog along the Trail of Tears in Chattanooga, Tennessee and has walked the streets of East Jerusalem in 1971, '83, 98, and 2015. Read other articles by Kemmer.

This article was posted on Sunday, July 25th, 2021 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.