The Dismemberment of the Manus Men
There was little blood, which came later.
After the initial acrimonious terrorism
by which the boats were stopped
the men (with accompanying women
and children) were dismembered,
planted on Manus,
and covered with tin or canvas
for safe keeping.
It was claimed they were not dismembered
then, or indeed ever. But as the men
sank into wild eyed fury, sadness
with no measure, or stony eyed
resignation, it became clear they
were indeed dismembered.
Illegal, they were no longer members of the refugee class,
voiceless, they were no longer members
of the enunciated class.
They were dismembered from humanity.
A flat, dry autopsy revealed
that it was, as had been said,
their own fault for getting on leaky boats.
They had dismembered themselves,
like the Texas chainsaw murderer
(there is no word for one who commits massacre
just as there is no word for one dismembers refugees)
taking the chainsaw to his own head.
From then on the blood flowed,
and that was ok.
From there on they were not our problem
but only a problem for themselves,
living with their own dismemberment.
