Poem: Plaza Del Chelmsford

Plaza Del Chelmsford

In the Plaza del Mayo in Argentina,

The Mothers of the "disappeared" stand

With their white hankies in their hand,

And say: "We want our loved ones

Back as they were." Mary, the mother of Jesus,

Did see her beloved son, when he was resurrected,

He appeared to her washed, and without pain.

Not so the Mothers of Argentina,

Their loved ones appear to them

Only in dark dreams, brutally disfigured.

And not so the mothers in Australia,

The friends and relatives of the dead,

Maimed and stunned, of Chelmsford "Hospital",

The disappeared of Dr Bailey, Dr X and Dr Y.

They appear to their loved ones in nightmares,

Or in the shuffling shapes of tortured shells.

The mothers and relatives of Chelmsford,

Can't expect, like Mary, that their loved

Ones will return, washed and without pain.

Or that they will find a place to stand,

Wet hankies in their hands, imploring:

"We want our loved ones back as they were."

Denis Kevans

From GLW issue 247