Collage Isabel Ros López; originals by Romain Morel and Daniel Jensen
These poems were written during the invasion and bombings of Iraq and Afghanistan early this century
Might
The greedy eagles
instead of soaring up high
just to show us
how flying can be
are planning to fall
like a ton of bricks
on the backs and skulls
of defenceless people
who have caused them
NO HARM.
Hawks
Incursion
is forced
penetration
is rape
demolishing
homes
rendering
the people
homeless.
Where are they
supposed to go?
Hawk is another word
for serial killer
using weapons
that destroy masses
of people
and livelihoods.
Forked Tongue1After the Sept 11th attack on the twin towers and subsequent bombing on Afghanistan He looked so sweet so moved so sincere so puppet like -so muppet like- so surreal It was so very unreal… "These people -he said- have no regard -oh regard- for the sanctity of human life" Guess what he did next? Tony boy joined the W boy and proceeded to bomb life out of it's sanctity away from this island away from the -oh so wild- West…
Contrast
The wind brings over
smell of gunpowder
faint clouds of smoke
the fireworks display
has begun…
as every year
the unseen is seen in London
people take to the streets in the thousands
all going to the common land
-for not all of it is common, you see?-
to find the best spot
from which to watch
the sky catch fire
in an orchestrated dance
of visual explosions
Children's voices fill the air
people sell fluorescent toys
the trail of rockets crosses the sky
and my trail of thoughts
crosses the planet…
Whilst we watch
in admiration
this playful display
in front of the moon
bombs are dropping
over many of us
-for it is not “others”, you know?-
The voices of fear
the voices of horror fill the air
a stark contrast of immediacy
some run for our lives
whilst some lay asleep
in a permanent siesta
It is a living lie
in the midst of truthful horror
I talk to myself and say
"keep it to yourself
people are enjoying themselves
what right do you have
to dispel their temporary joy?"
I agree with myself
disagree with myself
"But this is all going on
what right have we
to enjoy in pretension
that some of us are not dying
and being dispossessed
of joy?"
I don't answer
and I don't mention
I obey half of me
whilst my other half
feels devastation
and solitude.
Conscience
When the morning light
came to kiss my forehead
I kissed it back
and praised the courage
of all peace warriors
and the spoken objections
that dissolve the illusion
of the killing consensus.
Clever Fools
The voice of reason
wants to get us
all blown into smithereens…
Dreams of empire
won't leave us alone…
We are still living
under the rule of old Rome
"We are better than you
deserve better than you
we are superior to you
we are the brain, you are the body
we are the mind, you are the matter
we control
you serve
we know better, so this
is better for you too"
You clever fools
if you carry on like this
it will not be long
before the water
from the rivers you poison
reaches your own lips…
not long before
the life-giving rays of the sun
burn your skin
with the fallout
of a nuclear blast.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Material should not be published in another periodical before at least one year has elapsed since publication in Whispering Dialogue.
*أن لا يكون النص قد تم نشره في أي صحيفة أو موقع أليكتروني على الأقل (لمدة سنة) من تاريخ النشر.
*All content © 2021 Whispering Dialogue or respective authors and publishers, and may not be used elsewhere without written permission.
جميع الحقوق محفوظة للناشر الرسمي لدورية (هَمْس الحِوار) Whispering Dialogue ولا يجوز إعادة النشر في أيّة دورية أخرى دون أخذ الإذن من الناشر مع الشكر الجزيل
