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Guernica

by Craig Allen

Hush my child
Listen to the lullaby
Let me hold you close
And do not fear the night

The bull stands mute
Unable to comprehend
Though fierce, it is only a beast
Dumb and unaware of the horror

The mother screams
Holding her child
The horse mirrors her scream
Broken and in pain like the mother

They run, but there is no place to hide
And birds of death scream
And the screams of the mothers
Are drowned in their ghastly cries

The light glares down
Like some baleful all-seeing eye
Making the lamp of their lives
Some dim thing barely visible

Even Harlequin cries
His diamond tears ineffective
Unable to stanch the flow
Unable to return their lives

Until, at the end, the statue soldier
Lies broken in the rubble
A lonely flower sprung from his hand
Marking their graves with hope

© March 2009
Craig Allen

03/15/2009

Posted on 11/05/2011
Copyright © 2024 Craig Allen

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Joe Cramer on 11/05/11 at 10:23 PM

... excellent.....

Posted by Jim Benz on 11/10/11 at 07:23 PM

Guernica has always been my favorite painting, if fact I had to opportunity to see it in Madrid last June. So, as someone who is deeply moved by the interrelated images of that giant and magnificent painting, its no small compliment when I say that you've done an admirable job of portraying some of its power in a few short words. Which you have. Keep up the good work, Craig.

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