New Poem: Spathiphyllum

Spathiphyllum was S P Clark's poem for inclusion in the St. Mary's Festival. The festival this year had a theme of peace.

Spathiphyllum

S P Clark

The natural world in all its beauty is tarnished by the evils strewn around.

In the steppe was a body with his mouth open calling for help,

The last words failed on his tongue as the bullets stole the breath to speak,

A faint imprint of the rosemary sprig yet to settle in his memory lingered underneath him.

High on the escarpment were the limbs of long forgotten battles,

Some tried to run away, some to charge, and some clasped in prayer,

The seeds of blue cornflowers bursting to life around the fallen parts of wasted lives.

In the vegetation of the jungle lay the pools of blood from cannon fodder,

The sadness seeping into the soil and reaching the roots of every tree,

Cherry blossoms blow across the scene to cover the stain and purge the world by remembering.

Far out on the battlefield rest the petrified corpses of war,

Collapsed; intermingled as though holding each other for survival,

The poppies gently creeping up to display their claret petals and politely call lest we forget.

Instead of gasps, let’s hear choirs of angels,

Instead of limbs, lets see the joining of hands,

Instead of blood, let’s see the flowing water of life,

Instead of corpses, let’s see people walking with heads held high.

No more rosemary sprigs,

No more blue cornflowers,

No more cherry blossoms,

No more red poppies,

Let’s see fields of peace lilies standing tall with leaves touching like the fingers of freedom; spreading the seed of hope and freedom.

The natural world in all its beauty.

© S P Clark