Winter
by Alice Lovelace,

Through the mist
Bosnia-Sarajevo
Decode time
Travel more slowly
Than the bullets


Unrequited ghost
Heroes ofLost crusades
Memory ofPlague
infests These lands
Same people
Same bridge
Birthed a World War
(and two ... and three ?)

Fear rises
SinisterWantonVultures sip,
whileMissiles scamper
slope to slope
The news-sayers
sayThis war has worked
Rap'e
Torture Rule


MeanwhileI cruise C-Span
Adjust the image ...
Will we pass on this blame
Will we deem everyone a victim
Will we claim all is justified


(the time has come to weep)
For the sorrowful faces of children
For leaves that cling still to the trees
For bitter water ploughed in furrows
(the time has come to weep)

Far the moon like an eyelid
Spying the coming winter