I've been re-reading 'Pushing The Boat Out' an anthology of poetry edited by Kathy Galloway, and came across this poem of Alyson Hallett:
Young boy vomits blood
sees camera sings
us a song 'one by
one the petals fall'
His thigh fits in a circle
of finger and thumb
lips held tight
with smile of death
Children wake old
limbs of women grow
cold, amputated,
men pull tears, triggers
Empty shrapnel full
bellies groan
bloody fingers clasp
shredded flesh close
In the shells
of heart and home
cries of leave
us in peace.
At a time when the intention is for UK troops to pull out of Afghanistan, I think this is relevant again. The 91 in the title of the poem is of course 1991.
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