Disconcerting tendencies
A key trait of diplomats is inclusiveness,
every dishonest mover knows this.
As a child, stick a fork in another kid
A conventional killer loses if they do not kill
will corner you in the middle of a crisis
value the elimination of firstborns
A cowboy doesn’t need to be courageous
Don’t take orders from a weakling
true diplomacy is a blood technique
every dishonest mover knows this.
Henry Kissinger is dead.
Never a war he didn't adore.
The formal peace process requires hostility.Never a war he didn't adore.
As a child, stick a fork in another kid
test the physical limits of skin,
form unstable relations with civilians.
‘Credible military threats’ can be subdued.form unstable relations with civilians.
A conventional killer loses if they do not kill
a face can be easily removed,
the unconstitutional takes longer.
Maybe another’s humanitarian concernthe unconstitutional takes longer.
will corner you in the middle of a crisis
beat it away with incendiary fists,
kiss the cold lips of their mothers.
Count tens of thousands on one hand,kiss the cold lips of their mothers.
value the elimination of firstborns
show no moral restraint in foreign policy,
protracted campaigns are an aphrodisiac.
Occupation is opaque in the absence of life.protracted campaigns are an aphrodisiac.
A cowboy doesn’t need to be courageous
exhaust these stupid militant animals
making human shields from memory.
The destroying hour is near.making human shields from memory.
Don’t take orders from a weakling
bomb anyone who stays
or anything that moves.
Negotiate on the basis of possession,or anything that moves.
true diplomacy is a blood technique
extoll the virtues of corpses
enjoy this stellar career.
enjoy this stellar career.
David Stavanger is a poet, producer, parent, and former psychologist living on Wodi Wodi Dharawal land. Co-editor of Admissions: Voices Within Mental Health (2022) and author of Case Notes which won the 2021 Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry. His new collection – which includes this poem – is The Drop Off (Upswell Publishing, 2025).