Long Mortars Poems

Angles of Mercy
By
Kevin L Fairbrother

There is not to many of us that can say that the owe their existence on this earth to a Native in a Foreign country, in my case I can say...

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we sat, my brother and I
leaning against the old wood pannels of the room
the smoke engulfed us like breath
as the threat of violence loomed

his voice was quiet still
passion and regret burned in his eyes
when he...

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Ah the lovely seasdie
Ah the lovely seaside

Childhood scents
Salt air, Salty bitter memories

Jacques had turned just seven
He dreamed to walk along the seashore
He dreamed to see the seagulls sore overhead
He most of all dreamed to leave...

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Let hope rely upon your Maginot
for swift retort has choked your Gallic might.
It crushed your will beneath its undertow
as diligence receded in the fight.
Your flailing forces teeter on defeat
and any hint of truce shall be...

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These are poems about war and defenses.



Defenses
by Michael R. Burch

Beyond the silhouettes of trees
stark, naked and defenseless
there stand long rows of sentinels:
these pert white picket fences.

Now whom they guard and how they guard,
the good Lord...

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Privilege
by Michael R. Burch

This poem is dedicated to Harvey Stanbrough, an ex-marine who has written eloquently about the horror and absurdity of war in "Lessons for a Barren Population."

No, I will never know
what you saw...

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GUM AND GUNFIRE
I SIT AT MY KITCHEN TABLE COMFORTABLY EATING A MANGO WITH OREO COOKIES
while a father fights off fearfulness fervently in a far off forest deep in Da Nang
Where even the trees have fangs
And...

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Walking through the guarded gate and onto my children’s school grounds, the impact of the 
80mm and 120mm mortars crashing to earth caused me to pause. When you couple this with 
the repetitive thrumming of...

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A CFO chased cheaper resumes
into my severance of free days.
Safe in winter with my kids and Blue’s Clues,
til Spring brought out the perks of community dues.
Dawned smiles a first morning’s remark
nurtured those long talks into...

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Peaceful are the water lilies in flower
The ripples of contentment belong to the fish
and quiet is the grass that has healed this scene.
Lone tree crater is a ghost from the past
and it is here where...

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I'm just a wayward soldier, traveling
I'm just a wayward soldier, traveling
from fields and lands open meadows and farms
cities and towns country's  and..
traveling soldier who's got your back up against the walls
Traveling soldier who's got...

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An Awful Harvest
I went a hike up to Wawa in Montalban and up the mountain roads. Here I was to go past the peaks of Mt Parawagan, Susong Dalaga and Mt Lagyo plus others. The...

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Covered in the jungles evergreen thickets, beneath
Stones and mortars refuge lays an old Mayan crypt,
And on it is written an ancient curse, dare not enter 
Mortal men, or forsake thy living soul, as tributes
Offering at...

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An earthen gray memorial stands alone against
A rugged desert landscape, built by the mortal
Hands of the faithful.
No bells do ring, in the churches steeple, but in the
Heart of Texas it's sounding message can never
Be silenced,...

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SNIPER

A yell “ man down;” then zing, pock, pock,
pock, pock against the sandbag revetment.

Down on the plain is a man in a spider hole,
he is well hidden and armed well enough,
smokeless powder provides no clues.

Binoculars...

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New Guinea Kokoda Campaign

In 1942 the Japs appeared, took all the islands north.
Our troops were mainly school boys and for New Guinea bound.
13,000 Japs landed, climbed up Kokoda and came forth.
As  Yanks,  Macarthur's...

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Peace is though difficult 
Yet not impossible to uphold,
All the kings of the states 
Must remain self-concerned,
Without poking noses 
Into the affairs of others,
Curbing cupidity 
To expand the territories,
Subjugate the nations of the world,
Enforce the...

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O to have endless stretch ‘pon earth to roam,
Return to rest, to roost, to my sweet home.

Sweet home, forever a mighty magnet
To go back to an ever open gate,

Its awe and allure never once on...

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On quiet days in mid autumn 
When sun and clouds play ‘peek-a-boo’ 
Somber thoughts linger in crisp air
Of some other time and place where 
Harmattan winds in December create 
A hazy fog of dust and...

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Kokoda 1942 See-saw battle

Red blood was a running, emerald green saw it pour,
In the mountains of Kokoda, death on the see-saw,
400 fifteen to eighteen year old boys knew the score,
Just ole .303 rifles to stop...

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The old house stands still.
Rot has set in.
A flying termite caught in the webs of a dead spider, sway to the shrill of a ceiling fan.
All things sway.
Dreams rise and suffocate in the mouldering mortars 
Falling...

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THE SOLDIERS’ WAR (A tribute) 
The burning sand, the scorching sun

In the distance the sound of a gun.

Slow moving vehicles crawl at snails pace

Heading gingerly towards some safe place.



Far from home, in the blistering heat

They...

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At dinner, Zach asks
about our nation's history, wars.
I say We're taking on everyone, one at a time.

First Britain, then Britain again: "He was the surly English pluck, and
      there is...

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Another day, another life,
Another victim to eternal strife.
To the altar of hate and vice,
Lay them down in sacrifice.
Ideals, dreams, wishes, hopes,
We teach our children of life’s ropes.
So one day they won’t think twice,
As we lay...

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They suddenly barged in their tanks and trucks
Covered in various armaments of war.
Their vehicles droned, piercing the silence,
Cutting deep wounds in that fertile land,
And desecrating the once sacred ground.

Rockets flew like meteors across the skies;
Bullets...

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