a literary journal

POETRY

Christchurch


“Clutched tightly by his adoring father, the fair-haired blue-eyed toddler was the picture of innocence” 

Choices driven by hate, or driven by ignorance, choices are made.

Driven by love, driven by compassion, choices are made. 

50 faceless names who never dreamed of fame

blocked from the spotlight by the man to blame.

One flame 

But the flame isn’t the problem and the blaze isn’t the end. The

wind and the air and the time. The grass and the smoke and the

time again. Then the dead and burnt and the charcoal and dirt.

A flame is weak, a flame is tame, story after story, claim after claim, never-ending

attempts to shift the blame 

evil, darkness, what a surprise! When you feed children

propaganda, violence and lies.

Let’s talk about killers, let’s talk about terror, never about

victims or how times will get better 

Or how his ideas were born from choices we made as

a society. We’ve simply wished and prayed, blamed parents

blamed religion, hide in the shade. Never taking responsibility

for the game we’ve played.

A game of chess where white pawns take black queens through money through greed through illegal means 

Fair 

Fair is being born with an equal chance. Fair is education on equality and

injustice. Fair is being able to afford to live. Fair is not having to run from your

home because of wars started by us. Fair is your family dying of old age. 

Fair is not cradling a bloody corpse

Fair is taking responsibility 

Fair is rectifying mistakes and making change 

Fair is not being scared of losing a throne built from blood and bone 

“Clutched tightly by her adoring mother, the brown-skinned Muslim struggles to put off her last breath, the picture of innocence.” 

When did fair become an unrealistic dream?

George FordGuest User