"Copenhagen Lullaby on the Eve of a Slow Armageddon"
By Cora Reichert
In April, the night rains fell like smoke.
We predicted this future of wet rifles
on heavy mountains, where sweaty,
soaked Marines become their fathers.
Some of them will go on to stay calm
and dependably good, shelling out for
a Lance Corporal’s dinner in Itaewon.
Moon through a SKYY bottle,
amber floodlights. Here in the valley,
the arms of the concrete clothes poles
widen like a crucifix, slung
in rigor mortis ripples of a wet rug.
Snails crunch slick on the sidewalk.
It’s Orwell’s Easter and I am twenty-four,
losing all but touch and sight on a blend
of Advil and SKYY without stoplights.
Someday my hips will give out,
but not tonight.
Someday a tropical storm will overflow
the ditches, and we will predict that, too.
Someday the boys will be bracelets
on the islands at the end of the world.
Cora Reichert is a 24-year-old active-duty Marine from Columbus, OH. She has been published several times in Lethal Minds Journal and is working on her first book. She currently lives in Maryland, where she enjoys photography, long gym sessions, and writing about Okinawa and the military. Find more of her poetry and photography here.
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