Child of Conflict

small hands fit tight in pockets

he stands alone beside a freshly dug

makeshift grave

.

blue hooded anorak provides

minimal protection against bitterly

cold winds

.

boots caked in thick mud

his grey trousers dirt stained

eyes wide open full moon misting

.

never again to see her warm smile

or to feel her loving embrace

when in need of comfort

.

today's reality strikes

bullet like into the hearts

of those with compassion

.

a child of six left bereft

his mother gone while brutality

and savagery live on 

Reviews

[Aura]

A casualty of war. Life lost, while savagery soars. It's heartbreaking when those lives are lost, as a result of conflicts that others more powerful than the average citizen can't resolve themselves, in this poem, a child lost his dear mother, someone they cared alot about, and someone who cared about them. How will their lives ever be the same again? What good ever comes out of war?? Nothing. Yet, we continue to have it all because of greed, conflict,that powerful people are too childish to resolve themselves and responsibly. A candid read.

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Aura, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree with all you have said. A tragedy with immense consequences. I appreciate your review and visit.

Chris

[Aura]

My pleasure.

[Gee]

They are the photos that break hearts, children staring vacantly at camera's, alone amidst the madness of " grown ups" squabbling, orphaned many a time.
What drives him ?
Good morning Christine, off to walk the hound then 50 miles on the bike to tenderise my cheeks...anyone got any Johnson's talc :))
Hope you are well ma'am

[Chris Shaw]

Those are all questions many would like to ask him Gee. Now you take care with your training. I don't envy your cheeks. I fear they may take a battering:)

Chris

[Dave]

I too find it hard to believe that the world is standing idly by while this monster continues to devastate the people of Ukraine. I know they aren't completely idle, but they are not providing them with what they need the most. Are they kidding themselves about provoking Russia? Do they seriously suppose that this megalomaniac will stop after he tears Ukraine apart? Have they never heard of Adolph Hitler?

Take care - Dave

[Chris Shaw]

You are so right Dave. We have another one of those on our doorstep. As if one wasn't bad enough to remember. Always appreciate your kind thoughts and visits.

Chris

[Ken Simm.]

Reality does indeed strike in this brutally evocative poem.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Ken. Have a very happy Easter. So sad what conflict brings. Heartbreaking.

Chris

[Fabian G. Franklin]

In the Holodomor Russia, under Joseph Stalin, intentionally starved over four million people to death. There were emaciated corpses lying along the sides of the roads in Ukraine. The rest of the world may have forgotten but the Ukrainian people are well aware of the evil they face. They have faced it before. Millions of more lives are at stake now due to the same type of aggression. Millions of lives in Syria depend on Ukraine for humanitarian aide. This has so much more to about than an invasion as an act of war. It's about controlling the food supply through the largest grain producing country in Europe. Russia is doing the same thing now they did in the 30's when millions starved to death under the tyranny of Stalin.

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Fabian, I am aware of Ukraine and the importance of grain. Know they are a bread basket for millions, but did not know the history of what has gone before, so I thank you dear friend for giving me a history lesson on the evils of Stalin. So history repeats itself. A very happy Easter to you and yours.

Chris

[light and ashes]

A child of conflict indeed, but moreover, because of a world of conflict. We will never know a world without it. Until Jesus comes back, and the world will finally have peace.

[Chris Shaw]

Oh for a world filled with peace. Wouldn't that be wonderful. Thank you light abd ashes

read moreOh for a world filled with peace. Wouldn't that be wonderful. Thank you light abd ashes

Chris

[light and ashes]

You are very welcome

[Lathen Griffiths]

It strikes my heart to see this little guy, having to face such horrors, for who would wish those horrific experiences on anyone?
I believe in your words here that you’ve captured the raw anger, disbelief and emotions of so many of us Chris, thank you.


Lathe

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks Lathe. Unbearable to witness the suffering, to have to endure it beggar's belief.

Chris

[Relic]

Unfortunately, there will always be and have always been men with no empathy for humankind. Only reasons for their madness. We live in a cruel world.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Tim. We do live in a cruel world. Nothing changes. We are supposed to be more civilised when compared to the dark ages. Fact says we aren't.

Chris

[Dave Brown]

it is unforgivably tragic

[Chris Shaw]

It is both abhorrent and tragic Dave. While we look on. Enjoy your painting my friend.

Chris

[Crowley]

This is soooo brilliantly descriptive, outweighed only by the brevity of the situation and utter hopelessness it brings. You have created a mood and scene that one ca't pull their eyes away from.

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks Crowley. Tears your heart out, what we witness from afar. Totally senseless suffering.

Chris

[Beccy]

I wonder what might happen if the self styled 'macho man' Putin was given a rifle and told to get up on the front line? My bet is he would revert to type and cower and skulk in the background like the nasty little ex KGB spy that he is.

My heart bleeds for Ukraine, but I also have sympathy for the thousands of Russian mothers who will never see their young sons again. Eventually the truth will prevail, but meantime, the cost is terrible.

Your poem and the imagery it conjures up is a powerful indictment of a man this world would be better off without.

Beccy.

[Chris Shaw]

He is a coward probably hiding in his compound surrounded by a private army at his beck and call. I too Becky feel for the mothers of those Russians, particularly the conscripts who hadn't got a clue what they were about to encounter. A military exercise they were sold. They are in full blown savagery. The truth will out at some point, but Putin remains highly popular in his own isolated, censored, gun to the head world. No one wins in war and Ukraine is a tragedy of immense proportions.
Thank you for stopping by. Hope all is well with you and your son.

Chris

[Chris Shaw]

Oops I meant Beccy, sorry for typo.