The winter sun, poor ghost of itself,

hung milky and wan behind layers of cloud

above the huddled roofs of the town.

Buildings war-burnt and scarred,

tall trees charred and buckled, grotesque

monuments to what once thrived here.

Where was wisdom? Where was hope?

Had they become collateral damage too?

The people crept silently and wept openly,

fearful that their ...

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The Battle of the Corvidae

took place in Woolley Valley

with treachery and murder

concocted in an alley.

The Ravens and the Crows

together planned and hatched,

thinking that their treachery

could not be ever matched.

They planned to take the Valley

and dispense with other foes,

these nasty warring corvidae,

the Ravens and the Crows.

But w...

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Close now. I think. It’s hard to tell sometimes.

War takes away perspective with its taste

Of danger, its relentless jabs of fear.

Yes, we can see them. Just across the field,

Behind the trees but not quite out range.

Easy prey for our telescopic sights.

They’ll probably never know what hit them;

Two of them are down, the rest run away.

Bloody cowards, just like we wou...

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The war is sucking up our splendid youth.

They’re racing to the front; they won’t come back.

Each town and village starts to empty out,

As friends and classmates go on the attack.

They’re fighting for our dignity and state

Of freedom and of happiness pursued,

But consequences, each one plainly knows,

Could be unmentionably vile and rude.

In these now quiet streets the ...

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I wonder if those who lay the mines down

Stay put and wait for victims to approach,

Or, with a surreptitious grin, retreat.

As for the victims, no imagining

The horror of their plight will bring them back.

The miner and mined have done their duty.

In moral terms, they seem so far apart:

One bad, one innocent. But consider.

They are both under orders not to think:

Playthi...

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Strange feeling, standing next to this felled tree,

A victim of a violent assault.

Not long ago, these leaves were vigorous

In the reflection of a sparkling sun.

Green dominated, but entertainments

Of all shapes and styles delighted this Earth.

Now brown and shrivelled, they slip existence,

As they accompany their own decline.

We know that feeling too. The lynched bodies,

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Selana

She strapped on her warplane and flew away to fight

Russian jets being the enemy to be hit

Her missiles were old like her plane

But it was a good one well built

Serviced by her mechanics to perform

When ordered to do by her

She the tip of the spear just a gal

Reason I love my mistress the pilot

Defending our nation each and every day

She already ...

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A dead tree is sad, but it stands, present,

Benevolent, useful, still in the game.

It has nobility, even when charred

By flames, in the overheat of wartime.

Dead people though, perish in every sense;

Their limp remains plead for quick disposal.

All that’s left is once-removed: memories,

Letters, film of their pomp and garden games,

The sly maintenance of reputations.

Tre...

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Harrogate 21/3/22

It’s when I see the kites

a family are flying on the Stray

and notice how they glint in blue and gold

belatedly I catch on, how today

the bichrome of the flag of the Ukraine

has never been completely out of sight:

I’ve seen its vivid tones unrolled

not just where you’d expect:

flourished on the apex of a pole;

sellotaped to windows or on do...

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Shed No tears

There we go the same thing all over again

More of the same nothing changes

But the location and date

Death is death

Killing is killing

War profit is war profit

Way it goes from Napoleon to now

The dollar amount increases

Making the fat cats fatter

Their bank accounts rise to God

This will never ever end

Like the Alien films

They rule and own all...

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Missile Ways

What's up the sky and the Russian planes?

Before they're splashed by Stinger missiles

Whoosh! Missile away go go go kill a jet

Or chopper bring it down in the water

Let the crew freeze or drown

Some burn alive or get killed in the crash

How dare they invade Ukraine!

Teach them all a lesson forever

Some things not to be forgotten

Like Duncan in Dune 2021 d...

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Tupolev 141 Drone

Those old drones and planes and choppers all sat there just waiting to fly to war. Polish the metal fuel them up kick the tires away they go. No crew just needed just a memory of flight. Something part of their fabric like their wings or engine. A thing part spirit part elemental that exists beyond human comprehension though we built the machines.

Now t...

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All Putin’s Fault

The man cries

No more wife

No more child

No more family

No more home

No more Ukraine

No more happiness

Huge bomb craters

All Putin’s fault

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Ongoing

The pretty lady screams

KILL ME NOW!!!

Putin’s bombs just murdered her baby

What life will the young mum have now?

In a shattered country war death hate killing

The bastard waited decades for this

And acted not caring the cost

Of Russia’s neighbouring nation

Plus thousands of dead Russian soldiers

Let the traumatised lady be an example

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By Sixes

With this book we have to make a difference

The weight of worry and seriousness is huge

This has not happened before not this way

And very soon all things could happen

They try to control it but can they?

How do you control so many soldiers?

Along with the other shooters

Planes ships launchers tanks and more

Myself I've never felt this way

Except briefly in t...

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Vivid Orange

Sky black burnt like sack cloth by the fires

Endless fires vivid orange flames

Always orange as is the screams

Now invisible for they are dead

Bodies black ash blown about

Wind whipped up by the flames

Orange wind this way and that

Like the war win lose win lose

On and on till it simply ended

All dead nobody left to fight

Pull the trigger dro...

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In Silence

The English ex SAS Special Forces member went to the Ukraine to fight. He travelled light and took just a small back pack and a head full of skills. A gun was a gun and a bayonet a bayonet. He was trained to use most things as weapon especially military articles.

He decided to go to the Ukraine after the Russians invaded proper in early 2022. The Ukrainian Army too...

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Armchair generals
Firing other people’s bullets
With other people’s sons
Express sympathy
With the refugee
Who would be welcome here
If they weren’t such a risk to national insecurity
And Lincolnshire is full, says Leigh
Even if they’re willing to pick fruit

What has Liz’s dressing-up box
Got for us today?
Fighter pilot? Tank commander?
Recruiter for La Légion étrangère?
She’s unlik...

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HERE COMES THE WAR

Upon the hand that wears the ring

Upon the land where locusts sing

There lies a shadow that begins

To make fools of foolish kings

By fear, hunger, hate and pride

By secret tears never cried  

By flood, famine, fire and rod

By supplication to their God

Here comes the war

Over the border

Right to your door

Here comes the war

U...

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Mt Mataba Battlefield Hike

I did my first 2022 hike up Mt Mataba. I had previously planned to go to Clark area and see some battle sites up there but it was cancelled due to CCP Virus restrictions. Maybe next month instead. I took one of the front paths up Mt Mataba. I wanted to see the Japanese field hospital tunnel again and photograph it. On the way up Mt Mataba I met a hiking party the...

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An Awful Harvest

I went a hike up to Wawa in Montalban and up the mountain roads. Here I was to go past the peaks of Mt Parawagan, Susong Dalaga and Mt Lagyo plus others. The road had been improved by engineers with trucks and plant equipment. I wanted to hike a big circle right back to the beginning. This was possible a few months ago but not now due to the building of the Pamitinan Dam. It wi...

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