Full uniformed, six stand and scowl,
contesting threats
with grimmer growl,
wild weaponry awaiting shout
to thrust both
sides to raucous rout;
the signal sounds and all advance
on fearless feet in
potent prance,
encircling enemies awhile,
with fiery eyes and
scornful smile;
and then – thwack-thwack! – the stalwart six
wage Cotswold war
of striking sticks,
weave right left, windmill all around
the entertaining
battle ground;
ragged reports in echoes tell
of flooded fields
where fighters fell,
accompanied by rising wails
as steam train
passes ghostly trails;
yet this is not a dance to death,
to end exhaling
broken breath,
instead all fight off gleefully
in time of
camaraderie.
* * *
This poem was inspired by watching Happenstance perform
their last set at Wartime in the Cotswolds. This was at Toddington Station,
during the late afternoon of Sunday 27 April. Alas, P-i-R was a little late to
the event due to ill-health, a common scenario.
The piece is performed in iambic tetrameter and it has five
verses. I use semi-colons to divide the verses, rather than a full stop and a
blank line, to recall the relentless rhythm of the train as it travels through
the Cotswolds. The rhyme scheme overall is AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ.
The dance ‘Upton Sticks’ seemed a good fit with the theme of
war, as some of its elements are pretty fierce! I include the train itself for
hints of ghostliness, the steam and the whistle, and the flooded fields as a
nod to Flanders , or any fighting grounds.
I muse often on war, not only WWI and WWII, but all
conflicts to the present day. However, Wartime in the Cotswolds aimed to
present ‘a lighter look at wartime life’ (http://www.gwsr.com/news/latest-news/a-75-year-journey-back-in-time-on-the-gwr.aspx),
so my poem ends in the same spirit.
Requiescat in pace,
P-i-R
