The Things That War Can Bring

by Lucy Smith

War, devastation and despair,

The thick, black smoke fills the air,

There is no peace, it isn’t fair,

This is what it’s like.

 

All these people wanting to fight,

Their guns ripping right through the night,

Surely this violence isn’t right,

This is what it’s like.

 

Friendships and bonds torn apart,

Like bullets ripping through a heart,

Death and sorrow right from the start,

This is what it’s like.

 

These are the things that war can bring,

No dogs will bark, no birds will sing,

People knocked out from stones they fling,

This is what it’s like.

 

War, devastation and despair,

The thick, black smoke that fills the air,

There is no peace, it isn’t fair,

That was what it was like.

Written by Lucy Smith as part of Poetry as Commemoration workshops led by Lucinda Jacob in St. Matthew’s National School, Sandymount in May 2022.