Frontline poetry: Poets against the war

Submitted by Anon on 10 September, 2003 - 1:54

During the recent war on Iraq one of the components of the anti-war movement was "poets against the war". Groups sprung up in many countries. The website is still going and people are still submitting poems, some of these are better than others. Find it at www.poetsagainstthewar.org.
The UK website features one by Paul Marsden MP. Fortunately there are more interesting ones than his. It includes, for instance, the following 8th century Chinese poem.
Lament of the Frontier Guard

By the North Gate, the wind blows full of sand,
Lonely from the beginning of time until now!
Trees fall, the grass goes yellow with autumn.
I climb the towers and towers to watch out the barbarous land:
Desolate castle, the sky, the wide desert.
There is no wall left to this village.
Bones white with a thousand frosts,
High heaps, covered with trees and grass;
Who brought this to pass?
Who has brought the flaming imperial anger?
Who has brought the army with drums and with kettle drums?
Barbarous kings…

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