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Cheer for War

Guy Blais | 19.06.2002 00:49

A war poem by my son, Daniel Blais

Cheer

Now itÕs time to cheer for war
Cheer for pain and death
Cheer for all the blood and gore
And cheer the wrath in the devilÕs breath
Soldiers dead on bloody grasses
Cheer the leaders on the throne
They play with bombs and gasses
Cheer them as they play the games
With only life at stake
Cheer them in the final days
As we watch the whole world bake
I can hear the cheers and song
And feel the pains of death
My mind has washed out with the tide
So now I too must cheer along.

Dan Blais
New Britain CT High School
Grade 12

Guy Blais

Comments

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To Who It may Concern

19.06.2002 13:40

Adrian Mitchell performed the following piece at Alan Ginsberg's gathering in the Albert Hall in 1966. It was shown on Tv quite recently

To Whom It May Concern

I was run over by the truth one day.
Ever since the accident Ive walked this way.

Heard the alarm clock screaming with pain,
Couldnt find myself so I went back to sleep again

Every time I shut my eyes, all i see is flames.
Made a marble phone-book and I carved all the names.

I smell something burning, hope its just my brains.
Theyre only dropping peppermints and daisy-chains

Where were you at the time of the crime ?
Down by the Cenotaph drinking slime.

You put your bombers in, you put your conscience out,
You take the human being and you twist it all about

So scrub my skin with women
Chain my toungue with whisky,
Stuff my nose with garlic,
Coat my eyes with butter,
Fill my ears with silver,
stick mt legs in plaster,
Tell me lies about Vietnam

[being primarily a performance piece, i have reduced the constant refrains, which become ineefective in print]

Adrian Mitchell


PS: Is your sons school really called that ?

19.06.2002 13:43

Is it really called "New Britain" ? How worrying. Sounds vaguely sinister... I once saw a "George Orwell" school, and frankly these names seem to sum up ecudcation in Britain...

W S Derfty


Good Guy

19.06.2002 16:02

The generation now in school will inherit the struggle and bear the brunt of the maniacal N.W.O. policies, it's nice to know they are conscious and fightimg back.

I.T.


Adrian Mitchell's TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

19.08.2004 12:20

Not that it's any of my business, but I think TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN is entirely effective the way it was written- the continually lengthening repeated refrain is what makes the poem so great.

Robert Steinhilber
mail e-mail: catfishrushdie@yahoo.com
- Homepage: http://www.nolinecinema.com