the ministry of defence

Pj Harvey

This is the Ministry
Of Defence
Stairs and walls are
all that's left

Mortar holes let
through the air
Kids do the same thing
everywhere

They've sprayed graffiti
In arabic
And balanced sticks
In human shit

This is the ministry
of remains
Fizzy drinks cans
and magazines

Broken glass
A white jawbone
Syringes, razors
A plastic spoon

Human hair
A kitchen knife
And a ghost of a girl
Who runs and hides
Scratched in the wall in
Biro pen
This is how the
world will end

There's the bus depot
To the right
Levelled like
A building site

Those are the children's
cries from the dark
These are the words
written under the arch
Scratched in the wall
in biro pen
This is how the
world will end