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.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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