FLIP-FLOPS AND BOTTLE TOPS

by Daniel Dwyran

Friday 24th October 2014 9:40 am (first posted Friday 18th July 2014 5:18 pm)

His Mother makes them both a snack

Jamal, he sits out in the back

Upon an empty old rice sack

Flip-flops and bottle tops

In Gaza, fun for girls and boys

Are simple things that make no noise

For Jamal they're his favourite toys

Flip-flops and bottle tops

He plays outside in rubble dust

His Mother smiles and is not fussed

It's safer there but only just

Flip-flops and bottle tops

Then "Allah Akbar" is the cry

As rockets scream up to the sky

In the hope that some Israelis die

Flip-flops and bottle tops

Their deadly ordnance goes north-east

In the hope to slay their Zion beast

As far as Ashdod then at least

Flip-flops and bottle tops

Jamal's heard rockets time on time

And the stories of Israel's crime

When they stole his birthright Palestine

Flip-flops and bottle tops

The flip-flops are his battle tanks

The bottle tops his other ranks

He pretends they've reached the Jordan's banks

Flip-flops and bottle tops

Ten minutes pass through childlike eyes

They change to fear, then to surprise

What is that noise back from the skies?

Flip-flops and bottle tops

The once still wind begins to rush

And from the sky a roaring whoosh

A flash, a bang, inferno, crush

Flip-flops and bottle tops

So in that Gaza neighbourhood

One less building where it stood

In the rubble, broken bone and blood

Flip-flops and bottle tops

(c) Daniel Dwyran

Comments

Shirley-Anne Kennedy

Sun 24th Aug 2014 18:32

Great repetition. "Flip-flops and bottle tops" - brilliant!

Ged the Poet

Tue 22nd Jul 2014 20:22

I sincerely thank you all for your appraisals, comments (and messages) about 'Flip-flops and Bottle Tops'. I found it very hard to write and capture a snapshot of those horrific ongoing events. Much appreciated.

David Cooke

Tue 22nd Jul 2014 20:08

Very powerful.

James Roper

Sun 20th Jul 2014 09:43

It is hard to force oneself to think about what is happening in the world today, let alone to acknowledge it with such creative beauty and delicate sadness. I enjoyed this very much.

Kenneth Eaton-Dykes

Fri 18th Jul 2014 23:08

Hi Daniel

a beautifully written summary of an on going
tragedy. There will never be peace in the world
while it's ruled by people obsessed with the importance of boundaries.

Martin Elder

Fri 18th Jul 2014 18:57

This is a cracker Daniel, the way it flows. I particularly like the stanza that starts with 'the flip flops are his battle tanks'

Harry O'Neill

Fri 18th Jul 2014 18:11

Daniel,
an outstanding and clarifying use of
an almost nursery jog-along rhyme scheme with an
ordinary but ominous stanza-end repeat to (fairly) describe a tragic situation.

That penultimate stanza is a corker.

First class stuff.

If you wish to post a comment you must login.

FLIP-FLOPS AND BOTTLE TOPS

Comments

Please consider supporting us