Poet's Corner

IN THE LINE OF FRIENDLY FIRE

27-08-2007

They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Not if you've got the Americans on your side. The Stirrer's poet laureate Brendan Hawthorne reflects on the death of three British troops bombed to death in Afghanistan by their allies.

There is no such thing as friendly fire

Ask the dead

the dying

or the injured

It is always aggressive

indiscriminate

locking on to its' target

and destroying it

all in a fleeting moment

as quick as a twitch

on a trigger

a trembling push

on a button

Its' mindless willingness to obey

its' dictated trajectory

towards tears and loss

heartache and tragedy

is cold and calculated

And no matter how many times

Leaders

Generals

Journalists

use the term 'friendly fire'

to mean 'sorry it happened'

it changes nothing at all

Someone somewhere

will hear the hollow echo

from the call to arms

a percussive ring

from flagpole rigging

flying the remnant flag of victory

from the place

where their friend

their family

their fellow soldier

once stood

Loyal in doing their bit

doing their duty

to make this place

a safer one in which to live

only for them to get in the way

of another bit of America

as it tries to free itself

from an aimless war

with hell-bent frustration

on removing hostiles

or even allies

who enter the zone and

stray into the category of

another unfortunate incident

in the line of friendly fire

Copyright Brendan Hawthorne 2007