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Post Traumatic Civilian
There's no stars out in this darkened sky.
As a curl up, on the hard floor to lie
I cannot lay safe, cozied on this soft bed.
Not with the noises and memories floating in my damn head.
The cracks and the bangs that rang out in the night.
Times I saw many men fall, disappear out of sight.
Was that today, yesterday, or maybe tomorrow?
No bravery left here there's only raw sorrow.
The noise...
Tuesday 30th April 2024 5:26 pm
Draft Dodger
Are we allowed to be afraid?
Is it compulsory to fight?
Many would choose to be elsewhere
When faced with a foe and its might.
Are we a traitor if we leave,
Or a patriot if we stay?
It is no shame to show contempt
For warfare, and to keep away.
And ‘pacifist’, that grubby word
That hardly dares to speak its name?
Why should we join the ranks of hate
Or pl...
Monday 29th April 2024 8:24 am
Lest we Forget
So I sit alone, cold on a bench, world's away from my comrades, that lie dead in the trench.
These hands that saw violence, these eyes growing dark, this world bathed in silence, a new journey to embark.
We did it for kings, we followed the crown, we rushed from the boats, I saw many drown.
They pinned a shiny medal, right there on my chest, and I heard the bell toll as we laid them to rest.
...
Sunday 14th April 2024 6:51 pm
What's Of The Heart
What’s of the eyes if not to see -
a darkness on the land,
perpetuated by a world
that will not understand.
What’s of the ears if not to hear -
a silence through the night.
A deafness born of leaders with
no care of what is right.
What’s of the lips if not to speak -
a fading muffled voice,
drowned out by those in power who
refuse the people’s choice.
...Saturday 30th March 2024 9:33 pm
The Washing on the Line
The washing on the line is mine, is mine;
The washing on the line, it dries, it dries.
My best friend down the road, he dies, he dies;
Our enemy of old, he lies, he lies.
The washing on the line, it sighs, it sighs.
The washing on the line is mine, is mine;
The washing on the line, it blows, it blows.
Desire for revenge, it grows, it grows;
The guilty man nearby, he cr...
Saturday 30th March 2024 8:20 am
Silhouettes
Death transcends the toll of time.
Stands beneath a smoke-filled sky.
Spirits rise up from the past,
row by row from first to last.
Like silhouettes of lifeless trees
against the sun, no foot can flee.
Then sink they into desert sand…
as hate consumes the life of man.
Saturday 16th March 2024 10:46 am
The Gap
Don’t shoot!
Stop the violence,
Stop the killing.
Don’t waste your time with gods,
Or clerics on the greasy pole,
Or warped ideology
Which tells you what to think,
Or the cult of the madmen,
The travelling circus,
The usual suspects,
The old men in suits,
The gap –
Between the theory and the practice.
Be yourself;
Lay down your arms,
Reach out your hand...
Tuesday 5th March 2024 8:26 am
For Peace
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
Wednesday 28th February 2024 11:37 am
Two Years On - Poems on the War in Ukraine
As you may have seen on the News and Features page, I have compiled a selection of fifty poems to mark the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some of these poems will be familiar to regular contributors, but a number have not yet featured on the WOL blog.
This is a private print and not available for general sale, but I would be pleased to send a free PDF copy by e-mail to anyb...
Thursday 22nd February 2024 5:08 pm
Time Passes
‘Time passes,’ said the man at our table.
‘People want something new.’ I guess he’s right.
It's the prevailing theory round here.
‘The same old faces,’ opined another;
‘You know, Zelensky. Always wants money.’
And ‘here’ is anywhere, maybe everywhere.
Time passes. All of us know that feeling:
You turn a new page in a calendar
Or put away Christmas decorations.
At cricket...
Friday 16th February 2024 5:41 pm
Doomsday
Doomsday
Grey clouds roll in
The Sun sets in
Long ago was the summer of smiles
Now dark brooding anguish riles
Only the forgotten battlefields remember
The light green and the fond Heather
While with winds kiss
The clock winds and begins to hiss
The ticking is louder than ever now
As we wind our lives further down
While far away the threat is real
...Friday 9th February 2024 2:34 pm
Bad News
A morning to freeze the spirits.
As they shiver in hollowed times,
Workers stamp and spit used breath.
At the corner I see two men:
Their eyes wet from today’s bad news.
‘You can always tell,’ says my guide;
'They both had sons where it happened.'
I try to do an interview:
Get short shrift. Understandably.
As we leave, one of them calls out:
‘Poetry is dead. Art is dead...
Thursday 8th February 2024 8:17 am
Queues
We queued at the supermarket;
I saw that everyone was dead.
And yet they were still standing.
Out of defiance? Contempt?
Perhaps just out of habit.
We queued at the bakery,
And in the rows of cakes
We saw the faces of the fallen:
Unmoved, at last at peace.
We queued at the bus stop.
A passer-by called out to us
And we called back,
But no one was alive
...Saturday 3rd February 2024 8:48 am
Dove
A viper slides its way beneath the grass;
The animals of prey are on the prowl.
The innocent and helpless stand no chance
Against the savage tastes of hawk and owl.
Upstairs, forbidden lovers take the plunge;
Their beads of sticky sweat adorn the bed.
She’s fast asleep while he boosts up his pack;
Outside waits a procession of the dead.
The hunters beat the heavin...
Monday 1st January 2024 8:59 am
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