The drone flies in / we’re pickin’ up Putin / shakily salutin’ / one silver bullet left for shootin’ / through his hat because his brains need rebootin’ / now he finally sees how he’s throned / king of the hill on a pyramid of bones / with a twisted medal and a mobile phone / implausibly, imperially alone / experiencing his very own / trombone moment / when he finally sees he’s his own opponent / the fatally flawed central component / of a terrifying machine / bombs, bullets and submarines / rattling obscenely / chucking out the dead, chewing up the scenery / blackening the greenery / clearing the city / completely / the Book of Revelation with a section on politics / the fifth horseman of the apocalypse / shameless & shirtless / soulless & hairless / squint like a flint and a smile like a burning necklace / but enough – it’s done / the war is over, nobody won / the last bomb dropped and the paperwork done / everyone gone / all except poor Vladimir / the cock-headed cavalier / no – Vlad’s still here / Vlad the Impaler / Vlad the Jailer / Vlad the Last Action Movie Trailer / Vlad the Nuclear Anti-Social Neighbour / who only wanted the best for his people / in attitudes positively medieval / splash of uranium, topnotes of diesel / his legacy a brutal, resilient kinda beetle / bouncing along, busily fecal / running through the ruins of an orthodox cathedral / feelers twitching amongst the rubble / on the lookout for bug-sized trouble