By Clare Millar

416,809 enlisted

156,000 wounded, gassed, taken prisoner

62,000 killed

Preheat a war. Line countries with armies.

Combine Australia with its British obligations. Stir until men enlist, men want to enlist, men will do anything to enlist.

Roll out the guns, roll out the ammunition, roll out the men. Flatten lives until dying, leave until completely dead. Leave to cool for a few years, then add a nation creation myth to the mix.

Serve as ‘Lest we forget.’

But eat, and remember that how we tell stories

is not the truth of what happened.

And the biscuits we eat now

are not the biscuits that were sent to war.

Image by Hoshino Ai.