Who shall gather roses
in the gardens of Belfast,
where tangled vines
mingle with barbed wire?
Who shall tend roses
or pull weeds
whose roots clutch
cracked pavement
where old men march
and children play?
Who shall kneel to pray
or whisper, "No surrender"
to a brother, a son or a lover?
Who shall be left to gather roses
between cold stone crosses?
Author notes
The city where I lived participates in the Ulster Project, which brings children from Northern Ireland to the suburbs of Chicago for the summer. Even with the peace agreement, things can be violent and hate still simmers. When you look into the beautiful faces of the children, it breaks your heart.
A contest entry
- contest # 77, Dona Nobis Pacem by Elvenfairy.
450 points, ended September 3, 12 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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This echo's the sentiments of all Ireland, the peace agreement was always to be one that would work in some instances and not in others. The people who sat down to work this out were in essence bringing the sides together and though they sat and did indeed make a document to help the treaty, the mere fact the English did not leave straight away was a cause for concern, it still meant there were wire taps on phones, guard towers and the RUC still ruled with a fist rather than a tongue. It has now thankfully become less antagonistic, now the towers have gone and the police are Irish but there will always be pockets of doubt and to think that Sinn Fein and the IRA are silenced forever would be foolish, they will always be there in case anyone tries to take their Ireland. This is well written.
C
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I like the changes in the symbology. Particularly the use of roses which already hold so much symbology in love and royalty. The line "No surrender. " strikes me hard and not because I am a Quaker and a pacifist. Two reasons really. As a meditational practice, surrender is a way to be gifted and in the end to be able to step into the moment and the act of creation. "The zone" to people in sports. Then there is the act of giving up and they are tortured by this no win set up that spirals until all that stand within the helix can no longer sustain life. I could go on but I think you see that I find this stunning and affecting for a multude of reasons.
Thank you,
Tom B.
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Boffo!
Important piece, this.
Thanks for it.
Tom
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An invader of 600 years, will it all end? Independence leaves the feeling bretrayal is at hand. Michael Collins made an uneasy treaty and if he had not be killed I think it would have worked out as a political resolution. History only brings violent confrontation to rally around the boys with songs of retribution and hate at the pub. The Orange and the Green older than Black and White. The reader is drawn to the stark images of unrest. Hate can be found as far as Monghan County.
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Another great piece of writing. I love the line...
where tangled vines
mingle with barbed wire?
And the ending is perfect. Great job!
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