London
Their message:
Two hundred thousand
miscellaneous persons, surging streets.
It was the arthritic knees ignored
(Grandmother Edith's first march);
It was the lunch missed,
the school test - zero score
the prioritisation of expressed disgust
(red splattered placards still wet)
March against the war.
Istanbul
Their message:
Twisted metal
Miscellaneous debris, everywhere.
It was the blood pouring from eyebrow gore
(Amir, a passer-by);
It was the UK buildings,
the dead from second floor
It was the day after the Queen's dinner
The moment Bush and Blair met
Terrorism against the war.
Dublin
My message:
Sweet apple tea
Miscellaneous ceramics, Turkish delights
Colourful photos galore
(There's Ekrim with his sexy smile);
It was the soup spoon held mid-air
I was there! Before ...
It was the jigsaw puzzle exposed
(Will history scream louder yet?)
Poem against the war.
Susan Austin
From Green Left Weekly, September 8, 2004.
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