And now the babies
and their mothers
and their folded buggies
hurry west in trains
and fathers, husbands, brothers
must all become heroes again
and on both sides
shining munitions pile high again
and, again, old Mother Courage
rattles her old, bloodied cart
and although, long ago,
we held hands and sang
no one can remember again
no one can figure out again,
how to give peace a chance.
Moya Cannon’s recent publications include Collected Poems and Donegal Tarantella (both Carcanet)
and their mothers
and their folded buggies
hurry west in trains
and fathers, husbands, brothers
must all become heroes again
and on both sides
shining munitions pile high again
and, again, old Mother Courage
rattles her old, bloodied cart
and although, long ago,
we held hands and sang
no one can remember again
no one can figure out again,
how to give peace a chance.
Moya Cannon’s recent publications include Collected Poems and Donegal Tarantella (both Carcanet)
