~

if the operator enters the drone
hangar, the official inside will beat him
he wants to enter because he suspects
the hangar is holding his heart

and he wants to try to fly it for real
but he saw another drone
operator enter and when that operator
entered, he heard him get beaten

bad, thumps and breathing
like a dry rattling of a shutter
some splashing water and then
as if by a switch, no noise

~

strange electronic limbo, white
hot clarity of nightmare
in infrared, heat signatures
ghostly white against the cool black

earth, a little cam show reflection
reveals fascists removed
expression from museums
to control how much we feel

down, way down  to where the ocean
meets the soul floods us all with light
rises to where the eyes, there's no mistake     
look! the eyes are windows, screams!

__

These poems come from my absolute disgust over the United State's government's warfare economy—and the terrifying reality that killing can become easier when piloted missile strikes can take the actual act of seeing a human being's face out of the equation. So many innocent people have been killed as part of the government's drone program, for which all U.S. citizens are responsible, and these atrocities can never be justified. I have been inspired by a few drone operators who have resigned from the military and have publicly spoken out against the unethical use of drones in warfare.