Song of despair


	                     F of H front of house ●●
N of C night of clubbing ● Q of P queues of people
● D of I declaration of identity
● C of M calamity of manners
● B of B bitterness of birth
O of G outburst of gunfire ● O of G outbursts of gunfire
O of T outburst of tears ●
A of B atrocities of books ● B of L babel of lips
● C of W cries of women ● B of B beasts of burden
● S of L sunshine of life
S of C screams of children ●
● S of B shadow of birth ● C of B calamities of bullets ●
● P of L peals of laughter
● S of D state of disaster
● E of T era of terror ● A of T avalanche of trauma ●
P of T pitbull of teeth ●
C of G clash of Gods ●C of T clash of Titans
● M of S myriad of stars

● W of F waving of flags
I of C index of characters ●
● U of T upholders of truth ● M of S men of steel ●
● B of P birds of paradise ●
P of P pictures of podiums ●
L of P life of pageantry ● H of F handshake of friendship
T of M taunts of megalomaniacs ●
● H of A horsemen of apocalypse
N of W nobility of worth ●
● E of S evaluation of stocks
● A of C atrocities of China ● A of I atrocities of India
A of R atrocities of Russia ● A of S atrocities of Syria
● A of A atrocities of Australia
● F of T fulness of truth ● P of W perils of war
R of M reign of missiles ● P of P pride of place
● C of L complexities of life
● R of T reign of tanks
C of A cries of anguish ● S of C screams of children
● D of W destruction of wards
H of W horrors of war ● D of L destruction of landscapes
V of P voices of people ●
● R of G regardless of God
● R of G regardless of Gods ● R of W rights of wrongs ●
● W of W wrong of wrongs

B of P birds of prey ● D of C destruction of cities ●
D of V destruction of villages ●
● D of T destruction of towns
● E of T eloquence of tongue
I of F intensity of faith ●

P of M peace of mind ● N of G nectar of Gods
● R of M rivers of mud ●
S of T searchlights of tunnels ●
● F of F forests of faces
T of D tiers of despair ● B of C bombing of civilians ●
C of C curl of contempt ●

S of D structure of despair ●
● A of S atrocities of strength ● A of of A atrocities of lies
● A of B atrocities of bombing●
C of B crudities of belonging ●
● S of S scarves of smoke
● H of D hospitals of bone

R of L realities of life ● L of I light of icons
● T of S taste of soup
N of T news of today ● P of T part of that ●
D of G deeds of God ●
C of R cities of rubble ● D of D deeds of Dogs
● B of C bones of contention

● V of S verses of song
V of W verses of wrongs ● C of A coat of arms
● C of T columns of tanks ● C of M columns of men
● C of E chain of events
G of B garble of bombs

● D of D darkness of despair
● S of S silence of streets ● E of D empty of drink ●
● L of M light of moon
F of F fleet of foot ● B of F blowflies of fate ●
● B of D body of dirt

I of L intervals of leisure ● P of M peace of mind
G of T garble of thinking ● P of A prerogative of ancestry
L of L labour of life ● L of S life of sport
● R of L realities of life ● O of S out of smokes ●
O of B out of beer ● H of S heart of stone
● B of C bag of cement
● C of T clarity of thought ● R of W rights of wrong
S of L solution of liquids ●
● S of R smoke of remembrance
● S of R smokes
● of remembrance

Image: David Meenagh

πO

πO is a minor famous poet who is going to win the Nobel Prize for literature. His new & selected poems Big Numbers, Fitzroy — the Biography, Heide (which won the Judith Wright Calanthe Award in 2020, and shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award) and his latest The Tour. Currently edits the poetry magazine Unusual Work.

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