ERASURE
It starts with a fingerprint
Dirt denting the corner
Of soft cream vellum
Cotton fibres interwoven
With care over time
Attention is drawn
From artwork to stain
A thumb smudges the charcoal
Outline of the hills
Forever changed
Frontier soil eroded
The history
That marked the page
Blurred
The hand takes an eraser
Wipes out a city
Ruined foundations
Of human heritage
Faint imprints
Embossed on paper
And in memory
Remain
The fist insists
Rubs out all trace
Of each defiant face
Whose story
Deserving of a seat
At the table
Testifies to yesterday’s
Truth
Fine line pledges
Etched in margins
Small print warnings
Smeared with blood
Masked by brushstrokes
Wide enough to hide
A million lies
Suffused in ink
Meaning fluidifies
And evil is baptised
Into the faith
Zoom out.
Some things remain
Indelible
While Empires fall
Mud at the wall 