A Fistful of Poetry
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Palestine Blogs - The Gazette
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pro Deo, Regina at Patria
Blows rained down
monotonous as a metronome.
Each fist, each boot,
each rifle butt struck home.
A coil of agony bloomed
on cowering flesh and bone
and, should he dare to moan
the rain came down again until
he lay as still and silent as the stone.
And did those bloodied boots
march in perfect time
through some fast fading garrison town
where dizzy patriots lined the route
to welcome home their own
and did the fanfare of brass drown
each gnawing doubt?
Each night you watch his body
Twist and toss and turn
As through the lonely hours
You trace his memories burn
Across a ruined face.
Can’t transport you back to that place.
The walls and the floor of the cell
long since sanitised, hosed clean.
No one with the stomach to tell
what happened there.
All evidence of hell expunged
save for this trampled soil,
just one more unmarked grave.
Latin scholars come to my aid! Not sure of my title gramatically speaking, so corrections welcome. I think it is important to set these homecoming parades in context. They are designed as sops to the serving troops who will soon be forgotten and left to rot, suffering from the stress caused by what they have seen and done and of course they also serve to airbrush out all the civilian victims of military action. We all know about attrocities committed by the British Army, but name me some soldiers who have been brought to justice for committing them.
posted by REJ GOCH at 8:47 AM
About Me
Name: Richard Jones
Location: Glais, Swansea, United Kingdom
Time to update my profile. I think you might get some idea of my politics from my writing. Born Nairobi. Lived and worked in Swansea for 42 years. All but the first 4 of those years, I have lived very happily with Kath. We have 2 children. Sally lives in Edinburgh. Richard lives with us.I am pleased to say there are now over 200 poems on this blog and you can access all of the ones you can’t already see by dipping into the archives. Just click on the year and month to see what's there. It’s good to see a small but steady readership building up and I particularly enjoy it when readers from around the world take time to comment or send me e mails.
Richard Jones
• Age: 62
• Gender: Male
• Astrological Sign: Libra
• Zodiac Year: Boar
• Industry: Non-Profit
• Occupation: Writer
• Location: Glais : Swansea : United Kingdom
About Me
Time to update my profile. I think you might get some idea of my politics from my writing. Born Nairobi. Lived and worked in Swansea for 42 years. All but the first 4 of those years, I have lived very happily with Kath. We have 2 children. Sally lives in Edinburgh. Richard lives with us.I am pleased to say there are now over 200 poems on this blog and you can access all of the ones you can’t already see by dipping into the archives. Just click on the year and month to see what's there. It’s good to see a small but steady readership building up and I particularly enjoy it when readers from around the world take time to comment or send me e mails.
You've rented a sky-writer to propose to your significant other, but it's completely overcast. What will you do?
Blow the clouds away.
Interests
• Reading
• writing
• politics
• chess
• travel
• languages
• music
Favourite Films
• Missing
• The Name of the Rose
• Bladerunner
• Witness
• The Dancer Upstairs
• Gorky Park
• Oscar and Lucinda
• The Man Who Would Be King
• Pale Rider
• The Outlaw Josey Wales
• Kelly's Heroes
• The Eagle has Landed
• Dances With Wolves
• Z
• Kes
• Bird
• The Girl on the Bridge
• The Motorcycle Diaries
Favourite Music
• Ry Cooder
• Chieftains
• Madeleine Peyroux
• Gilad Atzmon
• Nina Simone
• Schostakowitch
• Ali Farka Toure
• Mussorgsky
• Orff
• Buena Vista Social Club
• Paul Simon
• Bellowhead
Favourite Books
• Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco
• Sara Paretsky
• Michael Dibden
• Ian Rankin
• Henning Mankell
• Jeffrey Deaver
• Andrea Camilleri
• Raymon Chandler
• Martin Cruz Smith
• Paulo Coelo
• Robert Fisk
• John Pilger
• Peter Carey
• Ursula Le Guin
• Terry Pratchett
• Robert Westall
• Catch 22
• Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow
• Kafka
• Andrea Camilleri
• Baudelaire
• John Le Carre
• Donna Leon
• Stieg Larsson
• Arnaldur Indridasson
My Blogs Team Members
Tinmans Row
Chris TBH is ten years old janzjottings laineopik Paul Harris Richard Bunty pens-myth patsten ScribesRus Simply Sue Catherine
A Fistful of Poetry
A Fistful of Fiction
Blogs I Follow
SOAS Students in Solidarity with Gaza
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Swansea Action for Palestine
yorktogaza
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