Giving the replicas back

​

What do guns when they are not in use?
In dead of night they double and divide,
naming new owners, finding a new ruse.

Carry a gun on stage, it must be fired.
Deterrent only lasts until undone.
Better they are counted out of mind.

List the ways to frame a decommission,
a car-park graveyard covered with cement.
Which stay on stasis is sufficient?

Marking each as put beyond use.
Keeping their provenance as you would art.
Rocking the replicas back to their false start.
It’s got to be efficient.

From: That Other Island (Bridgend: Seren Books)