Poems by Lynn White

Somewhere Else The Birds Are Singing

He managed to open the shutters a little way
but the gap was smaller than he expected.
He eased his head and shoulders inside.
The rest of him,
his arse and legs,
remained outside
covered in a blanket
then, as dawn broke,
covered once more
by a blanket of early spring snow.

He was hungry.
He was always hungry.

​Somewhere the birds are singing
he thought
somewhere else
the birds are singing.

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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
starvation ruled the land.

​Starvation ruled the land in Ireland
when the potato crop was blighted.
Without potatoes there was no food.
Without potatoes there was no money for food.
Without money for rent colonial landlords evicted,
slave labour of starving men women and children
followed the rule
through occupation
and colonisation.
And no help came.
No Aid came
to help them.

And still
potatoes were exported.
And still
the landlords did well.
All the colonialists did well.
They always do.

So Ireland knows how it feels
in the depth of its turf,
in the depth of its being,
its rock, its stones, its bones
it knows the story
and that change will come
with survival first
one step at a time
and sometimes
words and money
can effect change
as readily as weapons,
that time the past shows
is the time to make a stand
against political manoeuvring
against another respected decision
un-welcomed again by the most powerful.

History shows the time to make a stand.
For Ireland knows
how lives are blighted.

First published in New Verse News, January 2024

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award. www.lynnwhitepoetry.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com/Lynn-White-Poetry

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