My mind’s witnessing warring hell
It’s time to ring the bell
There is a time
When enough, is more than enough
When the price, far outweighs the costs
Counting the countless heads, is a needless sum
Moguls perched high upon ivory towers
Swinging full circle in their leather chairs
Crystal glasses full of classic red-wine
From grapes, picked by the walking dead
Fine china cups full of black caviar
From fish, caught by the floating dead
My mind’s witnessing bloody hell
It’s time to ring the bell
There is a time
When the suffering is enough
When the suffering is more than enough
How many heads do the Mogul’s need to roll
Human alley-pins falling into blackboard bins
Buried under centuries of desert lands
Empty hands holding onto sandy winds
The lost children, mankind’s biggest sin
Temporary tents and stretchers their living sty
And still, bullets and bombs whistle by
It was a long march from cadets
The sixth battalion was the next to tour and it was me who drew the card
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean
And there’s me in me slouch hat with me SLR and greens
God help me
I was only nineteen
I’d been in and out of choppers now for months
And we made our tents a home, V.B. and pinups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub
And night time’s just a jungle dark and a barking M.16?
And what’s this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me
I was only nineteen
It was a war within yourself
But you wouldn’t let your mates down ’til they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about somethin’ else
We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar
And Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon
God help me
He was goin’ home in June
On a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle
‘Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn’t even feel
God help me
I was only nineteen
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what’s this rash that comes and goes
Can you tell me what it means?
God help me
I was only nineteen
Ivor Steven (c) 2018
Ivor you my friend just threaded the needle …….I can’t just picked one line this was the desert after a fine meal
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You please me, to know my menu was satisfying.
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Confronting writing, Ivor.
I skipped school, one fine
young idealistic day back
in 1970, to Moratorium March
wit Jim Cairns against the
military madness in Vietnam.
My older brother had been
conscripted, and I had no
choice but to look at the
criminal enterprise being
perpetrated over there.
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I went to the Moratorium in Melbourne, …. they were heady days…
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Ivor, you didn’t happen to run into Julian Assange’s
mother, by any chance?
Along with the outrage and deThere was much freedom
in the air, & the occaisional
dalliance …
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You could breathe it in the air.
My brother was very much an activist,
Treasurer of the Melb Uni Student Union, with Gregory Macaulay as President.
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Some fond memories of
the student union library
at the University of Melb.
A good record collection,
and much ‘atmosphere’ also.
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My brother Danny Steven
Lived-in one of the Colleges
Did a maths degree
Smoked weed
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Very moving Ivor.
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Thank you Peter, I’m not sure where these words came from, maybe Xavier Rudds concert activated my mind.
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You could be right. He certainly has a powerful message in his songs.
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This felt a different style Ivor. I liked it. Difficult as it is to read (topic). What our minds witness….
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Yes, these words were on my mind. And I’m not sure about how I did the style, nothing deliberate, I was just trying to put some strong feelings into my words, ….
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It worked.
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Well done Ivor. Check this out…
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I remember this song well, thank you Walt for stirring up my old memory cells
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My pleasure sir!
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Such a moving and heart-wrenching read this is !
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Thank you for reading my piece, and you’ve come from my post on, Go Dog Go Cafe, and I find this so heart-warming and gratifying, and I appreciated your thoughtful comments. Ivor.
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So powerful and emotion-filled, Ivor.
(My oldest brother was drafted into the army at age 18 and was sent to Vietnam. I was just a little girl, but I remember so much of it too well. 😦 )
(((HUGS)))
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Yes they were traumatic times, I was drafted but I keep my education going so I couldn’t go and then the govern got voted out just in time, PHewww
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Such a moving emotional poem Ivor. Thank you 😊
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Yes it turned out that way, I so many thoughts in my head, especially from our Vietnam days, when so many of my friends were in the war there.
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truth is never pretty, you write so beautifully Ivor, it makes the heart ache for solution
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They are very deep and emotional writings for me, I immerse myself in my words, and I often cry while writing these pieces, and as I’ve just said before, I need to give myself a break from the tortures of our world…..
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You are a sensitive soul Ivor and it shows how much these atrocities affect you, yes maybe time to write some happy thoughts and flowers and the beautiful Melbourne sky you see.
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I might just follow some prompts, I’m doing a photo challenge prompt tonight, for something different.
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Beautiful and powerful
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Thanks Lemon, how’s your book going…
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I wrote a whole page this morning at 1am!!! I was so happy! Thank you for asking, Ivor dearest xxx
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Great work, and yes, 1.00am is always a good time to write !!
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I don’t always write at 1am but qhen I do I write words…
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Yep, I’m still awake too, strange creatures lurking with loaded 😔
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Are you okay, Ivor dearest?
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I’m good ☺️
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I thought I left an earlier comment here, but I don’t see it now. I just wanted to say what an entirely moving poem you’ve created.
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Thank you Paul, I appreciate your thoughtful comment.
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Gently powerful
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This needs no words of mine Ivor.
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Reblogged this on Writing and Reflections and commented:
From one of the participants at Go Dog Go Cafe – Promote Yourself Monday. Powerful work!
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Thank you Michele.
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That song always gets to me, Ivor. Keep the candle burning for peace x
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Yes a very powerful song
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So very moving and powerful!
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Thank you Irina, I’m passionate about this subject. 😊
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