We’re no angels
We bombed Iraq
Not in our name we said
We did it all the same
The shock and awe attack
And Black and Tans in Ireland
Suppressing a revolt
You’re part of the British Empire
Do not be a dolt
So everyone finds a reason
For acting as they do
And Putin now sees treason
Ukraine don’t leave us too
And black is white and white is black
The language of the will
And Donald Trump is milking it
Is he with us still!
I prayed for Russia as a child
By order of the Pope
A land without the faith I heard
A land bereft of hope
Communism’s cruel creed
Does away with you
You do not matter do not count
In communism’s view
Collateral damage is what we are
In warfare’s cruel sum
An acceptable level of violence
We tolerate the gun
We are never done with quarrelling
It’s part of who we are
But fighting is a foolish game
It is a step too far
My father saw six years of war
A time when millions died
We must bring fighting to an end
For all the tears now cried
Brian Fahy
3 March 2022
Erris Poetry 