A village in decline,

Where young do not come back;

The old folks keep on ageing:

This is a one-way track,

Which is not new, of course;

It was forever thus:

Tear-stained sons and daughters

Would board the early bus.

But this time gaps appear,

Whose like we never saw;

The thin supply dissolves

In casualties of war,

For boys arrive home wrapped

A...

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As the first one fell,

They all shouted: ‘Missed!’

As the second one fell,

They all shouted: ‘Missed!’

As the third one fell –

Enraged, he drove to the outskirts,

Eager to conjure up the words

For death throes of expired luck,

To paint the smell of burning flesh.

But no words arrived. Nothing came.

Remains were pulled from the remains.

Late...

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You say you want peace,

So silence your guns,

Roll back your tanks;

Don’t drop your bombs

Or send off drones.

Don’t mock the blood

Of the fallen,

Their savaged skulls

And shattered bones.

You say you want peace,

So unclench your fist.

You need to show

A little love,

And to be kind

And not to maim,

Destroy or kill.

But, sad to say,

I doubt you...

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Her habit, during nights deprived of peace,

Of dark skies savaged by the usual crowd,

Was to tell the world in her loudest voice:

‘For God’s sake, listen; this madness must cease!’.

But no one did, although she shouted loud.

Close by, stunned citizens with no choice

Took comfort in the echoes of her scream,

While they browsed damage as though in a dream.

Today she was ...

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