July 18th 2025
Ribs like tree branches wrack through the undergrowth
Carving out a path of spikes and sharpness
The shoes shred, leave traces of themselves on the shattered blackened earth.
Earth that held hope and life
Now deeply nurturing toxic horrors of memory and death
Brutality cracks open frizzures long sealed and put safely to bed
The underneath erupts, it taunts, it teases, it whispers
Red mists swirl and confuse
Where is the uncracked earth?
What horrors emerge from a depth long forgotten
Nothing is safe
Stones kill you in the night
Dreams of distant times
Hopes for future
A memory of colours and sweetness
Earth shattering, vengeance on the innocent.
Buried alive to slowly eek out breath which had long ago expired
Who lurks unexpected?
What fluttering is there in a crevice of the torn chasms of time and hope?
Feathers become iron weighed down by unsung melodies.
All heavy and unable to rise
…..but we will
****************************************************
Birds
Birds can fly
They can offend us or sear our hearts
Or just give us joy at their freedom to fly
But are they free?
We curtail their flights
We confuse their migrations
We deny them their food through our thoughtless agriculture
We dismiss them
We have no understanding of them
I think they know us – and cry.
