Poetry

By

David Subacchi

Politics

Ah yes politics that bag of tricks

In which so many fumble

Seeking short cuts and building bricks

Promises that will not crumble.

Manifestos, vows and pledges

Stuffing envelopes for posting,

Soap boxes, signs in hedges,

Registers for polling.

Standing on the back of a truck

Loudhailer in action,

Praying for a stroke of luck

To defeat the other faction.

Yes politics the clever name

We give to all this sadness

To dignify the deadly game

Of madness against madness.

Valle de los Caidos

(Valley of The Fallen)

Flying low above burnt fields

The Impossible to ignore

Legacy of Civil War.

Tomb of Franco

Nationalist dictator

Together with more

Of his comrades

And some Republicans

Added as concessions.

But although nearby

Monks pray constantly

For all sent to eternity

Descending to Madrid,

We feel only anger and loss

Rising from Valle de los Caidos.

David Subacchi

David Subacchi lives in Wales where he was born of Italian roots. He has three published collections of poetry in English and a collection in the Welsh Language is forthcoming this year. Also a collection of 17 Sonnets commemorating Ireland’s Easter Rising of 1916. His blog can be found here.