new book anti war poems out now

OUT NOW

Europa – in the dark valley
between the world wars

Out of the total darkness came a light brighter than infinite suns...
Poetry on women (and men) in conflict


Nick Armbrister

And

Andy N

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Lorraine

The bayonet. I've had it a decade. There's provenance here... not written I'm afraid. My mate Richard, who I went to school with in 82-87, had a lovely sister, Lorraine, from a different dad.
He was a soldier in the British army. He's dead now. He collected weapons, guns and bayonets. His wife asked Richard what to do with them. Some guns were real. I said tell any coppers the guns are replicas or deactivated. I had the bayonet.
The story... the soldier, my mates stepdad, was in combat in the (Alsace) Lorraine area of France. A huge battle was fought here. Many were killed on both sides. Alsace/Lorraine was part of France, then Germany, finally France, in this fight and in history. There's even a cross of Lorraine.

The Tommie found a dead German soldier. I don't know if he killed him. He took the bayonet off him. And survived the war. In later years, I guess 1968/9, he had a beautiful daughter. Her name is Lorraine. That pretty northern lass is named after that oh so special area in France, Lorraine, where that awful fight took place, to crush the Nazis. Where her father fought. We won but many died. I'd ask the soldier to write it down but he's dead now. So there you go.

I've not seen Lorraine in ages. Where is she now? Does she remember what happened at Lorraine? Does she know the bayonet's story?

Four Minutes

This is the time it will take to kill a person in the ice cold Baltic Sea, allegedly. Not even several thousand people thrown into the ocean together, using their body heat would live longer. This has been done a few times, especially on the large German ships sunk in the war by the Russians.

They were called Goya, Gustloff and Steuben. The cold ocean was hungry for death on those nights, no mercy shown though mercy must have been pleaded for and God begged for help.

In times of war things happen, torpedoes are fired, ships sink and people drown or freeze to death in the Baltic. I wonder what it felt like. If I put a finger into chilled water, will it be like that? Not very nice, four minutes to die in the icy Baltic in early 1945.

anti war book out now poems and link here...

Europa – in the dark valley
between the world wars
Out of the total darkness came a light brighter than infinite suns...
Poetry on women (and men) in conflict
Nick Armbrister
And
Andy N
-----------
Bare Bones
In the flower bed, all the bodies cry for release. As the wall tumbles, history's old secrets are laid bare. Truth is lost in the yellow of autumn leaves. Where are you now? Brown autumn leaves descend as my family decays to dust. There's no justice for the guilty, just armed protection in South America. Innocents are persecuted for breathing.
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Stolen
He used to write to her, doing pen pal letters in his spare time, when not on duty. She replied back in-between marking her students' work. Nothing special, you understand, it’s good to be friends and have fun. Over a year’s worth of letters sent both ways, something young people do. Talking about music and films and their lives. He was Israeli, a soldier and Christian, she was Palestinian, a teacher and Muslim. A year separated them. Out of the blue they came and took him from his homeland, to her land, but he wasn’t destined to meet her. They took his colleagues, too, and killed a lot more. Her letters went unanswered. She received one of his sent before all of this. His side retaliated as they had to do; after all, they had to be seen as strong by one-and-all. Over one month of attacks to free their boys, we’ll show them, no-one will be spared. True to their word, so many died by their firepower, wrecking a country with little done in return. He remained a prisoner, her photo hidden in his wallet. She wrote letter-after-letter, all unanswered. She cried at his silence, missed his words and talking. Why can’t our countries talk instead of having this stupid war? They took my friend and started all of this. If only they would talk and not fight. How stupid they are! Bring my friend back to his people, I want his letters, to meet him! We’ve never met due to the border, a line made by politicians. We are not so different, could this be love, stolen by war?
http://www.lulu.com/shop/andy-n-nick-armbrister/europa/ebook/product-21542741.html

New Cold War

I'm a child of the Cold War. I was a kid and then teenager in those heady days. Fear was there, it was real. A tangible thing. Like being aged 13 and telling an adult to fuck off. But a million times more deadly. Potential of war, World War 3, was off the scale. East v West in a dizzying game of Armageddon. Quite a party. Everyone invited, no party poopers here. Early November 1983, NATO did Operation Able Archer. A Command and Control exercise. The Soviets thought it was real and got ready, just in case. Missiles armed, bombs near jets. Now thirty plus years later, my  scary old friend is back. I'm thrilled and terrified. It's amazing and surreal. Russia annexing Crimea like Nazi Germany in the late 30s. What next? Massed military forces moving into Ukraine proper? NATO beefs up her defences; radar planes in Poland and Romania, extra fighters in the Baltics. More Russian jets in Belarus. Up and up it goes. Worse crisis since the Cold War. When America switches focus from the Middle to the Far East. What next in our New Cold War?

He Flew At Dusk

Off for a spin in his mate's plane. It soon went wrong. Flying blind, blind flight. Don't know what to do. Pilot dead at his controls, there and then. I must land or die. Dusk falls.

RAF search and rescue Seaking there. Scrape the mess up when I crash. But I want to live! Not fall.

Man on the radio tries to help me land. It goes wrong on the unlit short runway. Sit in your car on a dark night. It was like that. Pitch black. Follow the chopper. Like being Forsyth's The Shepherd. A guardian angel, saving a pilot lost in the dark. Surreal events in the night.

God was his co-pilot. He got down ok. Luck was his that night. Surviving the unsurvivable. Man who never flew before was more concerned for his dead friend than himself.

Two weeks later he had his first flying lesson. Old age pensioner age 77. Quite a true story.

tracy reed yellowheart book link

1. well when I cant sleep, I use my time for important things. like setting up a page for my fave book by an English author, yellowheart by tracy reed. heres the link. her book is wonderful. and can be got on amazon for 1p.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracy-Reed/531677316944950

Elementals

1. air, 2. fire, 3. earth, 4. water. Beings of the Elements.

In a forest Elementals of the earth could live. If a river was nearby, water Elementals could live. What if the river dries up? Can water El's move? In Australia fire bugs start fires on purpose. Say it attracts fire El's due to the fire. How do they get to the fire? Fly?! Yes! Air Elementals who live in the sky must fly/float. Do water El's float on water, go under water freely or through it? Do earth El's move thru rock? Or only in caves? Don't eat/drink like humans do as they're beings of energy and get it from their surroundings, eg fire Elementals get energy/life force from fire. How are they born? Must be a first one. Have an evolutionary path? Can they die? Can a fire El die if the fire goes out? If not, move from fire to fire? Same with other Els. Freedom of movement?