spoils

by Mary Silwance

since rape
is a weapon
of war

where are
the ROTC posters
dog tags
21-gun salute
veterans’ day parade
the Denny’s discount
the thank you for your service

to downy-haired daughters
and toothless grandmothers
impaled on soldiers’ erect rifles

their bodies bloodied
into unmarked wombs
unmarked tombs
unremarked upon
in history books
for every god and country

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“The poems ‘spoils’ and ‘the disappeared’ are part of a continuous dialogue both internal and external regarding marginalization. Who and what gets foregrounded and who and what gets tossed aside in public and private spheres. Specifically, the very personal poem, the disappeared, is an exploration of the process an immigrant takes on in order to assimilate. Spoils is an indictment of the war machine that turns a blind eye to the most common and intimate war theater, female bodies. And yet the victims and survivors are perennially disappeared from any accounting of war.” —Mary Silwance 

Originally from Egypt, Mary Silwance lives in Kansas City and is the mother of three daughters. Mary has been an English teacher, environmental educator, worked in green infrastructure and is an herbalism apprentice. Mary serves on the editorial team of Kansas City Voices and provides workshops on writing. While her poetry and essays appear in numerous publications, Mary explores ecology from an intersection of justice, spirituality, and embodiment in workshops and at https://www.marysilwance.com. Mary is a recent attendee of the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference.