Those Lives Blighted

Once, in Ireland one million died

and we’re still counting.

One million fled 

for their lives

and we’re still counting.

Equivalent to the population

of Gaza

before

the avalanche 

of violence

spread so thickly

it destroyed all

in its paths.

And its paths were everywhere,

rubble strewn deep as an Irish bog.

And before

the aftermath

when starvation ruled the land.

So Ireland knows how it feels

in the depth of its turf,

in the depth of its being,

its rock, its stones, 

its body filled bogs, 

its bleached bones

it knows the story

and knows that 

change comes

only 

with survival 

survival first

then change

one step at a time.

And history shows its time

to stand against

the manoeuvres 

of the powerful.

For Ireland knows

how lives are blighted.