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on Ukraine
Back on the FRONT PAGEOne thousand days passed nowDesperate urgencySomething must be doneBigger, badder, bolder stillMore, more of the sameWho thinks more killingWill lead to peaceful outcomeWhat will be enough?~ CLP 20/11/2024 →
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on Ukraine
Ace pilots against dronesBrave, skilful and resourcefulMachines have no fear~ CLP. 18/11/2024 →
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on Ukraine
Cracks in a ceilingStretch along lines of weaknessUntil there is no strength~ CLP 18/11/2024 →
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on time
I realise that I have passedFrom talking of people I knowTo recalling those I knewI draw from a well of storiesDrawing up memories of memoriesFrom a war-time Hampshire farmOf the Canadians in SussexOf majestic sea linersFrom the Black CountryA cricketer who faced TysonFunnelling through generationsA woman who watched Blériot landMy mother’s tales, a song sungAdding →
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on Ukraine
distance no objectinnocent civiliansunder the flight paththe war still drones onbeneath a newsprint mountainabout democracyforeign volunteerstravel to fight the bullylost in confusionRussian troops fallingeach different, each the sameas leaves in autumn~ CLP 10/011/2024 →
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on Ukraine
Moscow’s criminalsReleased if they fight like dogsOn Ukraine’s bloody soilNorth Korean menEmerge but die in numbersBrief lives beyond the wireLike gladiatorsEntertainment for CaesarNew Russian rouletteWar is a cruel gamePlayed out by politiciansWith the lives of others~ CLP 06/11/2024 →
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on land
as you learn the nameswritten, then how pronouncedhalls and manors emergeancient fishpondsclothed in algaeor claggy with weary leavesa moat, walls, parklandit becomes clearthis landwas once for the havesand the haplessits feudal formstamped into the lanesdiverted around groundsold metal fencingthat avoided the call updue to the lord’s protected occupationon the last remnant of greenthe stone crossscored →
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on Ukraine
watching from the shoreI see the oceangather itself indraining the beachscrambling pebblescurling its liphurling itself forwardclawing away another stratumbreaking more groundeach crump of wavedespite its damned furymerely a precursorto the next formingin jostling ranks behindthere is only so much landthere is so much seawhat great resolve is neededto construct safe harboursecure the coastdecide what cannot →
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on Ukraine
Half of all spent is spent on warTaxes, privatisation, national assets soldUkraine is beggared beyond beliefWhat price victory?What cost peace?~ CLP 11/10/2024 →
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on luck
There is no such thing as Lucky SocksOr shirt, or shoes or underwearI tried some new ones Wednesday nightBut Pompey sunk without a fightTo lose six-one was a shock to meSo are those socks now cursed Unlucky?There’s not such a thing, I’m pretty sureSo, they’re unwashed and are worn once moreFor the vital match todayWhen →
Journey of Words 