in Flanders fields we’ve reassessed our stance
observing crass remembrance does that to a corpse
in Flanders fields we took a poll of souls
& turned in graves at sight of waste & sham

We watched a Black Watch boy blow his bollocks off in Kandahar
& witnessed Paras pepper peace march crowds to death in Derry
& fawning teatime BBC presenters
pin the blood-stained poppy on crap suits

of gouty white men who never fought in wars
but who have an economic interest in monetising slaughter

Del Lennon is an occasional poet and lifelong socialist, originally from Glasgow, now living in County Meath, Ireland. He is currently working on his first full collection of poetry. 21st-century Poetry is edited by Andy Croft, email info@smokestack-books.co.uk.