They meet in basements.
They find one another in a college symposium.
They gather in a penthouse.
The plans were to seize rebels among the villagers.
The plans were to drive out the villagers.
The plans were to gun down all the villagers.
Posters around the city extol the leaders’ unflinching devotion.
Social media demonize the despised encroachers.
Videos flaunt the murders.
Newspaper reports suppress the murders.
Investigators cannot identify the unearthed remains.
Historians single out rogue actors.
Citizens deny any knowledge.
Schoolteachers skip over the relevant years.
Selection begins for the next victims.
This poem was published in Dumbo Press on March 3, 2024.
Andy Oram
February 18, 2024