|
Images of war 06 - Hide and Seek
by Paganini JonesHe wears a punk hairstyle
and a crusaders breastplate.
In his hands are
a broken air rifle
and a silver-plastic cowboy-gun.
This is not another nightmare
but some game.
He looks up at me, worried.
Have you seen two little children?
We're playing hide and seek.
Im a Christian.
They are Iraqis.
Ive got to find them
but I dont want to get shot.
I shake my head,
ask if he has looked over there,
point at the shrubs.
He wanders around the corner.
I wonder, where would I hide
here in this village,
If I didnt want to get shot.
An empty wheelie bin?
Under shrubs?
Birds sing out from the hedges.
It is nesting time
A magpie watches from an elm.
He comes back,
small boy in tow.
He carries a cardboard shield
and a potato gun.
He gave up, says his brother.
He's on my side now.
A small girl stands
by the corner shop
that is also the post office
and public house.
She wears blue ribbons
and carries
a water pistol.
Bang, bang! Youre dead!
her brother says.
She falls to the ground
laughing.
It is only a game.
25th April 2003 04/25/2003 Author's Note:
This poem is based on a true incident that happened whilst I was waiting for a bus in the tiny village of Gristhorpe in North Yorkshire. The effects of war fought at a distance are far more far reaching than we could imagine. The words are my own.
Posted on 09/25/2004
Copyright © 2025 Paganini Jones
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Maureen Glaude on 09/25/04 at 11:25 PM brilliant and scary & sad indeed - quite imaginable |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 10/02/04 at 06:18 AM Food for thought Pagan....Charlie |
| Posted by Brett Shane on 06/13/05 at 12:04 PM another one that hits me close... if only there were a reset button on this 'game' |
| Posted by Ken Harnisch on 08/10/10 at 04:21 PM In its childlike simplicity, this poem is utterly profound..more meaningful now in a million ironic ways than the day it was written. POTD, indeed. Well-deserved, Pags! |
|
