Six Thousand Miles of Difference

Six thousand miles of difference

Determined by mans’ hand,

Of greed and power sought by him

Against his fellow man.

Six thousand miles of difference

Exacted by a thought,

That life should be a harmony

Or life should be as nought.

 

A still and utter peacefulness

Pervading in the air

Normalities great splendour here,

In order everywhere.

A dog barks in the evening light

As neighbours mow the lawn

And the distant hum of traffic

From yon motorway, forlorn.

 

Shattered buildings teeter

To the concrete debris strewn,

Through war torn streets of battle

Where hot shrapnel sears the noon.

Where blood pools in the broken glass

And fear is in the air,

And the shriek of rockets plummeting

Cause a heartbeat to despair.

 

Leafy streets of sanctity

Where people mix at will,

Chimney smoke which spirals

In atmosphere tranquil.

Couples saunter, arm in arm

Children laugh and play

The normal, here, is everywhere

Upon this peaceful day.

 

Decapitated corpses wash

In blood, red surge of sea,

An encounter in the wrong place

Means a sudden death for me.

The skies are filled with torment,

The people quake with fear

As they cringe and flee, directionless,

To frantically keep clear.

 

Six thousand miles of distance

Determines where we stand,

In battles hell and maelstrom

Or walk free in this fair land?

In Syria’s catastrophe

Where men do kill at will,

Or walk in serene safety

On this lands’ grassy hill

 

Six thousand miles of difference

Determined by your hand

With greed and power wrought by man

Against his Masters’ plan.

Six thousand miles of difference

Exacted by a thought…

-That life shall be a harmony

Or life shall be a nought.

 

Marshalg

Ascot Hospital

Auckland

19 November 2012