The Black Snake (2022) Words by Tim Hodgetts, Music by Cate Carter

The Black Snake
Long and black
With high gloss back
Is our most deadly snake
Through glass belly,
The mourners see
Britain on the caskets draped.
The Legion’s flags
With respect sag,
Dipping as the snake glides by.
A Petal shower
Forms a thin cover
As families, in silence, cry.
This wooden meal,
Far from unreal’s
A consequence of modern war;
Where choice, not need,
Impels we feed
The virtuous cycle to endure.