Poems

“Is it in Kent”? Somebody said “No, it’s in France; it’s full of the dead” “Is it up north? Or down in the south?” “No, it’s a river, it’s wide in the mouth” “Is it quite young? Can it grow old?” “No, it’s fast flowing, it’s dashing and bold” “Is it blue water?, does...

The sky is black, it’s the 1st of july The thunder of guns is about to die The whine of shells will stop for a time To allow the silence to reach it’s subline The men in the trenches are ready to go Awaiting an order from an n.c.o Loaded with kit, rifles to shoulders...

When we return back from war, It is hard to see what we are fighting for, All that violence on the sand, Is mimicked like a mime in this land. All the blood leaked from our veins, With all the loss and the bitter pains, It seams like it comes to naught, Just a motion...

We crouch behind makeshift sandbags, Jozsef grips a rusted shotgun, beside us cloudy milk bottles stuffed with rags litter the=2 0cobbles. I finger the trigger of my Kalashnikov, my hands trembling in the yellow-brick shadow of the cinema, we make a final stand....

Night on the cold plain, invisible sands lift, peripheral shadows stir, space between light and dark shrouding secrets; old trades draped grey. Here too poppies fall, petals blown on broken ground seeds scattered on stone and this bright bloom, newly cropped, leaves...

Under starlight oil and blood glint the same; from pulse or pump a viscous unction, dark coagulation; stains soaking through clotted crust to anoint the ground: oil to sand blood to dust ashes blown on pitch-black stone.

Let others tell of battles fought On bloody, ghastly fields, Where honour greets the man who wins And death the man who yields; But I will speak of him who fights And vanquishes his sins, Who struggles on through weary years Against himself and wins. He is a hero,...

When we left the shores of England Bound for some distant land Few of us knew of the Falklands Isles Far less the job in hand But once again we were called to fight And an Island of oppressors rout Yet another outrageous invasion By Argentinia , territorial laws to...

From Camp Bastion you called When you wished us all well. And, then, you went back To that furnace of hell. 'Out, here, in this s***hole -of Helmand I sit. If a plot for me waits 'n those lush fields o' grass Then, I pray to the Lord That this madness'll pass. I'll...

There really is no such thing as a just war Because in all world conflicts, greed is at the core Whether it is for land, oil, or simply to dominate What war always succeeds at, is breeding hate. We have to open our hearts and let humanity in For killing our fellow...

sunday death sandbox tanks cinnamon sands shivering shadows simmering mirages shimmering shapes sharp grief stop before one more spirit is weaned from it’s body

When you come home there’ll be huzzahs¬, drumbeats. If the only thrum is of my heart, I’ll imagine yours in concert. When others hear Taps, I’ll hear Reveille and know you’ve returned draped with honor as always.

Why is it that war is so easy to make But peace is so hard to keep When politicians are responsible for so many deaths Tell me, how do they sleep? When we turn on our TV screens every day We see the result of decisions made By the privileged few who are safe in their...

They are killing hundreds of people without batting an eye While the rest of the world stands idly by In Gaza they’re mourning a child blown up in their bed Whilst by others, it seems, barely a tear is shed. Where else in the world could this injustice be done To...

The bombing has stopped and a kind of peace prevails, Only broken by the sound of screams and wails. Of people so grief stricken that they can hardly breathe, But, surely grateful for this fragile reprieve. For they truly have been living through hell, Within the...

wrapped in shrouds of silence coffins draped in once proud colors arrive secretly, unseen lest they disturb patriotic citizens who sacrifice peace of mind while watching the nightly news so much stuff to worry about... who will be the next American Idol what about...

still they come, grief-filled coffins engulfed by a sea of tears suppressed rage weighed down by death how can they rest in peace others say it is needed, won’t back down continue to plan their tomorrows ignore lessons from the past say, this is victory, forget forget...

When is daddy coming home Tis war my boy, I don't know Our country not at war why he away Others make that choice its not for me to say He has been gone along time Yes the days are fading fast Why is there a war Because people want control What kind of control some...

He's off to fight a war, we'll see it on T.V. He's off to fight a war, him, not you or me. Gone to foreign deserts, in far off distant lands. Gone to fight an enemy, in swirling yellow sands. To crush the reign of terror, and stop a Tyrant dead. He's fighting for our...

You’re a hero Tom Hunter, so all the boys say You’re a hero I know, in your own quiet way. You’ve seen plenty of action, you’ve been through the mill, you were there in the battle on Tumbledown Hill. You were there when young Frankie stood up and got shot, spun round...

Up and up to the high pasture, a barefoot child of six or so, along the track, skipping as she goes, and singing a green song. Bringing bread and cheese and water for the old man where he waits, not for the food, though man must eat, but for the child, the one...

You sent me out to fight You expected me to kill; You openly admired my pluck my energy and skill; but now you turn away from me when blood begins to spill. How can you be so fickle? So thoroughly naive? When we left home and country what on earth did you believe...

Grey sheets spat, cobbles beamed rudely. They marched, he hung between: a scuffed, bloodied bundle of broken tomorrows; face etched in torture's scrawl; chest chickened; untested manhood stripped; torn top mind-blown with fragments, half-remembered sticky strands;...

This was a tale told to me years ago When I was but a mere lad From the lips of man serving in Burma About the experiences or war that he had He spoke of the fight against Japanese In a jungle hostile to many Who had never before visited these foreign lands Altho’...

A hot sultry May breeze provides little comfort from the scorching night temperatures— the jungle humidity. I scan treetops for creeping or hunched silhouettes in the shadow of this full moon. Nearby cypress and mangrove provide such cover. Ten feet away a branch...

The wind fills her wings As the angels wings beat down Her feet almost touching the ground Tears fill her eyes This beautiful angel starts to cry She asks the question WHY Man’s blood turns the ground a crimson red For all around there lie’s so many dead A sea of...

And where are you fighting now my child Holding your Country’s head high Are you in the heat of a battle? With attitude must do or die Or are you at rest or in training Awaiting the challenge to come Do you think on all of the reasons? You’ve chosen to carry a gun Is...

A Winter’s day, The corner of some foreign field, mist rolls like the waves upon some haunted sea, a sea of red that stretches far unto the horizon. Beneath it, lurking in the muddy depths rusting wire curls about lonesome bones, ‘neath fathoms of shattered lead. I...

It’s snowing at home. The Buses have stopped. Dad couldn’t find a Train this morning. The papers scream “Credit Crunch”,“Recession” and misery, Beer’s gone up, trials and tribulations. In the bottom of the parcel Nan’s placed warm socks, Kendal Mint Cake, a local...

In the darkened city people listened with fear to the roaring of enemy planes drawing near to fulfill their mission of some political vision as with deadly precision they blew buildings and bodies asunder. And the sky grew dark with eerie smoke, eerie smoke filled the...

Politicians from many countries meet at a table and speak of acceptable losses. The rest of us wrap our loved ones in our flags get back in line to catch the next son, daughter. sister, or brother, the lover, husband, or wife who’ll fall quickly and dead. Named, are...

Sun-Bleached bones, stretch across the dust. In cloudless skies of dazzling white the Vultures circle echoes of the fallen, uniformed spectres fade, the shades of the lost, haunt these blasted fields. Steel creatures lie sides ruptured, twisted and torn. Blistered and...

I killed a man today, It happened in my waking, I looked in the mirror and there he was, His heart forever breaking. I killed a child today, He was in my head playing, And in three ranks at attention standing, Into the past he fades praying. I killed my love today, It...

Night time came and darkness fell, sirens began to wail A warning of death and destruction, on a massive scale Blackout curtains were all drawn to obscure the light For up in the skies overhead, the Luftwaffe was in flight Night after the night they’d return to drop...

Soldier, Soldier, With uniform and gun, Died in battle, Went up to meet the One. “Soldier, Soldier, how did you die?” “The enemy fired, I fell without a cry” “Soldier, Soldier, look at the enemies now. They hug like old lovers And your death they disavow” “What then...

It feels a lifetime ago since I was there. But I can still taste the atmosphere, feel the warm air. We’ve bid farewell to that war now, we’ve counted our dead, We’ve dusted ourselves down and refocused ahead. But there’s no rest for old soldiers, there’s still work to...