George Wright – poetry

G e o r g e W r i g h t

“War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determined not to support any kind of war. I am also determined to work for the removal of the causes of war” The pledge of the Peace Pledge Union

A DREAM WORTH HAVING

Let’s invent some weapons of peace Fill grenades with apple blossom Make bullets of Turkish delight And the only gas would be laughing gas So we’d laugh into the night

Let’s invent some weapons of peace Mines in the road made of liquorice Knives would be of balsa wood Drones fashioned from sherbet saucers To give just hiccups would be good

Let’s invent some weapons of peace Declare all other types illegal We might just permit gob stopper stones Chocolate bombs and cola gas warfare Bomb shelters become candy floss homes

Let’s invent some weapons of peace Put the best minds to work, none to shirk Are my suggestions so terribly mad? Just look at the money invested in death Don’t you feel incredibly sad?

A wise hawk would know That it cannot snatch up an Eagle in its beak

ABUSES OF POWER

The money mogul’s hold their fire, Not so the Russian troops, They turn a home to a funeral pyre While we dither and jump through hoops. ‘We’ll calibrate our response’ we say, We wont hurry to cut off SWIFT cash, As the oligarchs hide their wealth away And the tanks continue their dash. The only calibration comes from their guns And when we finally wake up to the tyrant’s game It’s too late for a nations daughter’s and son’s. We should hang our heads in shame

THE WINTER SOLDIER

The winter soldier has ice in his heart, He will do whatever he’s told, He’s not complete, he’s just a part, Of a machine to take and to hold. The winter soldier will aim his rifle At whatever stands in his way Opposing voices he will stifle, Only his orders have any sway. The winter soldier has no guilt, No sense of right or wrong, No concern for any blood that’s spilt Or of being where he doesn’t belong. The winter soldier aims the rocket That splinters family home’s He holds many lives in his pocket, Not bothered by their burning bones. The winter soldier isn’t called to account, He’s only doing as he’s been told, And all his dark deeds he will discount As being daring, brave and bold. The winter soldier feels no fright But there’ll be visits in the years ahead, Ghosts will point their fingers in the night, And he will meet the many dead.