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Imperial War Museum
in this cathedral
they worship
the machinery of death
glorify bravery and loss
in the name of Empire
"King and Country"
the strategic alliance of
ideology and nationalism
amid the winter gardens
two erect naval guns
decapitated from some
muted, lost battleship
search aimlessly for targets
once, enforcer of Golden Empire
now, Shanghai scrap metal
in the atrium stands
a neutered V2 rocket
unable to explode
life and hearth and home
I touch the casing
of a disemboweled nuclear bomb
called "little boy"
cold, black and lifeless
so unlike my child
manikins fashioned
by medals and ribbons
are military dolls modelling
expressionless insanity
peering into a glass case
displaying German MG-34s
three teenage boys boast
of quality workmanship
then recite impressive
firepower statistics
I politely suggest
if they are truly interested
in German workmanship
and the efficiency of death
they should visit the
WWII Holocaust exhibit
just down the hall from the
"Crimes Against Humanity" display
Randy Hurst
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