poetry – Page 19 – Robin’s Nest

Treason And Loyalty

by Amanda Madhavan The Traitor has a name for the Loyalist: ‘You traitor to a greater Cause’. The Loyalist replies: ‘I am content to be loyal to our kind.’

by Roger McGough (b. 1937) ‘The trouble with snowmen,’ Said my father one year ‘They are no sooner made Than they just disappear. I’ll build you a snowman And I’ll build it to last Add sand and cement And then have it cast. And so every winter,’ He went on to explain ‘You shall haveContinue reading “The Trouble With Snowmen”

Not From This Anger

by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) Not from this anger, anticlimax after Refusal struck her loin and the lame flower Bent like a beast to lap the singular floods In a land strapped by hunger Shall she receive a bellyful of weeds And bear those tendril hands I touch across The agonised, two seas. Behind my headContinue reading “Not From This Anger”

Brothers Side By Side (A Soldier’s Tale)

by Andrew Blakemore (b 1966) We were pinned down by the gunfire In that scorching desert heat, Outnumbered by the enemy Yet we swore we’d not retreat, We were cut off from our unit But we held that line alone, Until a sniper’s bullet Felled my friend just like a stone. I held him inContinue reading “Brothers Side By Side (A Soldier’s Tale)”

A Dead Friend

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) I Gone, O gentle heart and true, Friend of hopes foregone, Hopes and hopeful days with you Gone? Days of old that shone Saw what none shall see anew, When we gazed thereon. Soul as clear as sunlit dew, Why so soon pass on, Forth from all we loved and knewContinue reading “A Dead Friend”

Happiness

by George Savige (Australian poet) You cannot buy your happiness, ‘Cause happiness is free. Don’t you know, or can’t you guess It’s there for you and me. And what you do with what you’ve got, Can change the way you feel. Just do your best and smile a lot You’ll keep an even keel. ‘CauseContinue reading “Happiness”

On Another’s Sorrow

by William Blake (1757-1827) Can I see another’s woe, And not be in sorrow too? Can I see another’s grief, And not seek for kind relief? Can I see a falling tear, And not feel my sorrow’s share? Can a father see his child Weep, nor be with sorrow filled? Can a mother sit andContinue reading “On Another’s Sorrow”

Racism Today

by Steven Taylor The racist cloaks his loathing thoughts Behind deceiving eyes Those men who once wore hoods and robes Today wear shirts and ties. Their methods changed but yet and still, Their mission is the same Today they lynch with politics, The racist’s favorite game. Divide and conquer is their plan To keep minoritiesContinue reading “Racism Today”

In Memory Of Jane Fraser

by Geoffrey Hill (b. 1932) When snow like sheep lay in the fold And wind went begging at the door, And the far hills were blue with cold, And a cloud shroud lay on the moor, She kept the siege. And every day We watched her brooding over death Like a strong bird above itsContinue reading “In Memory Of Jane Fraser”

Aberfan

by Owain Glyn The sky was grey and sullen Shrapnel rain struck window pane. Inside sat fresh scrubbed faces Pink with expectation. Hair, filled with mischief Notes passed, with intention. Teachers with vocation Intent on revelation. Unearthly sounds reverberated Silent breaths were held. Death’s hounds were near, and convocated Close upon this ground. Suddenly, theContinue reading “Aberfan”