TRANQUILITY

a remembrance poem

“Poppies by the river” by Olha Darchuk

The fallow fells of la Boiselle,
Befouled by blood and bomb
And sunken shafts are paths to Hell,
The Styx that was the Somme,
Tranquility, un canal morte,
Embankments lined with life cut short,
Tranquility,
Tranquility,
I see old Scotland in my thoughts.

The hoar of war obscures the scar
That rips the battle-lines,
The blasted bones of Lochnagar
A bowl of burning mines,
Tranquility, un nom tragique
And if she could the Somme would speak,
Tranquility,
Tranquility,
Serene as scenes from Glen Coe peak.

Hear Ovillers, just over there,
A fringe of fire and smoke
And chlorine cloys the noxious air
So those that live may choke,
Tranquility, chantez pour nous
So we may see this souffrance through,
Tranquility,
Tranquility,
The Lord will send me home to you.

This poem is written in the Trijan Refrain form, a form devised by the poet, Jan Turner.