On Falls Road tinsel drapes,
cloth hunger-strikers embolden,
Bobby Sands beams for a metre and pipes,
“Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.”
On Shankill Road baubles shine,
rifles glare among red-hatted jollity,
brick coats of arms cheer and complain,
“The cause of the conflict in Ulster is Nationality.”
Times change. There should be a mural
of cash in a briefcase, cocaine in a barrel.
Comments
threeleafshamrock | June 5, 2009 - 07:51
This is just BRILLIANT! For anyone who knows anything about the 'Troubles' or about this little corner of the universe, this hits all the nails squarely on the heads. Covers just about everything in 2 and a half stanzas. Super stuff! This should be automatic 'cherry country' as far as I'm concerned.
Chris ;)
NaziWifebeater | June 5, 2009 - 11:49
Thanks muchly, Chris. Appreciated. I actually consider this to be one of my best poems, but in a less obvious way than the other best ones.
I wanted to show how Christmas unites the two sides as though the problems are nothing to do with religion, which they aren't really, anymore.
The question is, which is the facade - the peace or the antagonism?
threeleafshamrock | June 6, 2009 - 12:31
The 'Racketeers' will work behind any fence and they don't care what name you put on it. Any smokescreen will do, be it real or 'diplomatic'.
Timothy Poole | February 2, 2010 - 21:54
Love the half-rhyme! And very powerful ending.