The Week Before War
March 2003
This day I shall remember,
when all was light and bright about us.
The girls and I, beneath the sun,
were hunting daisies.
Like the twin lambs and their own kin,
they were playing, bursting forth with new life,
such was their joy.
Each step was filled with wonder
as I spoke to them of the magic that is Spring,
And we looked for fir cones, pussy willow and sweet catkins.
and signs of those small creatures: rabbit-holes and tiny paw prints.
The Red Kite, he was soaring high above us, like a symbol of my Hope.
And in his flight we spied the Moon and Sun together.
Though it was the Week Before War,
(or should I rather say Invasion),
the Anger which had erupted on my skin, was,
for just a while, forgotten.
And the thoughts of those poor children in Iraq
were cast into small shadow, like the Moon.
But, later on that night when She was Full
I knew that Full scale bombing would begin.
Yet while She had been high and partly hidden,
in a blue and sunlit sky,
Her innocence so gently shone.
And my fears were briefly buried
on the Dark Side of her face.
©Cait O’Connor
Written on 15th March 2003
That picture always makes me cry. It's from the Oklahoma City bombing, was on the front page of so many newspapers then. Little Bailey did not survive.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree Kaycie, it is a shocking and very upsetting pic, I have therefore removed it. It was an image of terror that I wanted to convey because I consider that war is terrorism in whatever form.
ReplyDeleteCait, thank you for posting your poem. There is a wonderful arc in how your observations move from plane to plane.
ReplyDeleteLet us continue to be peaceful in our daily lives, so that quality of energy might spread.
xo
Thanks for that Cait. With all of the politics going on here about the war in Iraq, it's necessary to keep all things in perspective. You've done that for me and I'm grateful.
ReplyDeleteCait, you tell it so well. Thankyou for being so balanced
ReplyDeleteAh I wondered why there was no picture there. Why is man so keen to spend the eons inflicting pain and misery on his own kind when there is so much beauty and wonder in the world and so much good to be done. Everything that seems to promote good is a battle in itself.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Poem Cait. I wish there was more Peace within this world, cannot understand why man has to inflict so much suffering on others, to fight and be at war, when our beautiful earth is here to behold and to enjoy.
ReplyDelete