by Bradley McIlwain
You said once that
war wouldn't affect
your writing the way
it would your guns –
but there was never
sublime in slaughter,
or the cry of friends.
Kipling didn't warn
you in all his former
glory, or those rich
recessionals that
sent brave men to
death. You bled like
Stewart and McCrae,
letting gore fill your
heavy pen.
Bradley McIlwain is a Canadian-based writer and poet who lives and works in rural Ontario. His poems have been published in national and international print and online magazines. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours, from Trent University, with a major in English Literature. His first book of poems, Fracture, is now available.
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