A poignant poem by Xavier Marrs, aged 11, inspired by his recent studies of world wars, current conflicts and his interest in wildlife.
I am just one
It is strapped so tight,
The canister that could be my blight.
I see my friends and coo.
Time to go,
And will not slow.
I see the broken land and coo.
My life is a poisoned chance,
A completely useless dance.
I see the journey and coo.
I will see my family,
Though they wait anxiously.
I see my mate and coo.
I am just one,
Who will know when I am gone.
I see the world and coo.
The message is heavy,
My wings are not steady.
I see the destination and coo.
I feel your hate,
No need to sedate.
I see my worth and coo.
The gunfire beat in my ears,
No matter my fears.
I see my species and coo.
I am their target,
I am their carpet.
I see the bullet and co-.
I was a “war pigeon”,
All those before me have no chance.
I see the others but it’s too late I cannot coo.
Image Credits: Picryl/National Library of Scotland #nls+dodid+74548774 Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.
That is brilliant Xavier. Poignant and thought provoking. Thank you for sharing.
Such a sad poem, beautifully written and very moving. It sums up the futility of war, a lesson we never seem to learn from, and the cost to human and animal life. I hope Xavier will continue to write poetry and wish him the very best of luck.
Thought provoking Xavier. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Xavier for this beautifully written poem about the war pigeon. I had not thought of these birds before and will always remember them now thanks to your poem.
Unexpected
Xavier, despite sensing the inevitable end of this poem it still came as a heart stopping moment, just one ‘o’ left off and ………! So very powerful. Thank you.
So sad. So true. War. War. War. No lessons learned.