This is not a war said Putin
But a special military operation
I laughed at first and thought it was a lie
A deceit a euphemism
But today I understand
It is what he meant
What he intended to do
Feeling threatened by NATO
And its expansion
He sent in tanks to bolster his defence
Ukraine must stay neutral
And now he is bombing it into
A rump state
Our first responsibility
Is to understand what is going on
To interpret truly the state of our world
To understand our ‘enemy’
But also to critique ourselves
We in the West
Have a great deal to answer for
In this present mess
Here in the UK
Our government thinks
It is re-enacting Churchill
And the days of Empire
Sending armaments and cash
Cheerleading from the side
We think ourselves superior
Do not fear those who can kill the body
And after that can do no more
Fear rather the one who can send body and soul to hell
Fear the evil one
We can all fall foul of him
Brian Fahy
2 December 2022
Erris Poetry 