Belfast 1972

Naga-uta

Sat on the grass.
Babies crying – tired and hot.
Harassed, worn faces.
Smoking cigarettes non-stop.
Army won’t move out,
therefore people have no homes.
Came home and sunbathed.
Got my arms and back roasted.
Gunmen opened fire,
there’s wild shooting going on.
No one hurt, thank God.
Four times I’ve turned the lights out.
Same weather for tomorrow.

(From a 17-year-old Belfast girl’s diary, July 1972)

Set in stone

BE TRUE, HELP MOTHER,
INITIATIVE, INDUSTRY,
SPIRITUAL POWER,
GET A JOB, KEEP OUT OF DEBT,
WORK, PROSPERITY
FOLLOWS SERVICE, USE YOUR HEAD,
IDEAS, STUDY,
TRUTH, NEVER TRY NEVER WIN,
KINDNESS, LOYALTY,
INTELLIGENCE, IDEALS,
BE ON TIME, BE CLEAN,
COURAGE, INTEGRITY, SAVE,
IF WORK STOPS, VALUES DECAY

(Boulder inscriptions in Dogtown, Massachusetts)

Drop/drift

There is a big drop
from daytime to night-time
temperature, wind
dies down by early evening
and night. Cloud cover
is a quarter or less, odours
seem more intense.
Far away sounds can be heard
clearly, cumulus
clouds collapse toward evening.
Smoke or dust hangs in the air.

(Environmental cues for temperature inversion from Crop Protection Guide for Apples)

With This Ring

Diana, the bride
at every royal funeral
and the mourner at
every royal wedding, was
present in more than
just the engagement ring which
sat so heavily
on the hand of this young woman
who must now walk a
mile in her bloodied shoes, on
a road leading who knows where.

(Julie Birchill quote, via The Daily Mash. Submitted by Marika Rose)