POEM FOR ADRIAN MITCHELL

FOR ADRIAN MITCHELL

BENEATH THE YEARS AFTER

Adrian Mitchell – 24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008,

this is my response to his fine poem ‘Peace Is Milk’,

as reprinted in his collection ‘For Beauty Douglas’ – Allison & Busby

if peace

was ever milk

then it’s been sterilised

evaporated

with generations

weaned on blood…

if peace

was ever blood

then it’s been transfused

into the corpses of the blind

drained into the veins of anaemics

and generations left

bereft of dreams…

if peace

was ever dreams

then it’s been

bled through illogics

force-fed on illusions

amputated from the breast

and left to die

of thirst

Published in:

‘T.O.P.S. no.33’ (UK – September 1981)
‘RECOLLECTIONS BEFORE DAWN’ (UK – December 1981)
‘BIG BANG no.5’ (UK – December 1983)
‘AS WELL AS no.4’ (UK – March 1997)