You burned down our house
But home is in our head
We marvel at the pyres
And warm ourselves instead
We are the free ones
Wandering and wild
Whilst you guard your toys
The spoils of the child
For all the sermons
High up on the mount
You carry more burdens
Than anyone can count
The title refers to the Dangerous Girls song ‘Step Out’ that repeats the phrase “demolition”. The first stanza refers to Edison watching his factory burn. ‘Wandering and wild’ refers to Wasted Youth’s album titled “Wild and Wandering”. The burden is a reference to what Israel will carry once they have completely destroyed Palestine.
8th May 2024 – Submitted to dVerse Poetics
Today I’m feeling:
I felt pretty good after getting back from coffee but whilst settling into some reading some felt sleepy and had another three hours rest waking up again at two pm
Today I’m grateful for:
The shop where we sneakily parked our car and decided to get out and walk the rest of the way to the festival.
The best thing about today was:
The atmosphere of fun and pleasure at the festival. Folks were having a good time.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Taking an hour and a half to get to Singha Park for the balloon festival, stuck in traffic for more than an hour and missing any sunset photo opportunities. At least I could listen to my music whilst in the car.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I remained patient whilst stuck in traffic (and hungry)
1994ever 
Power, possessiveness, burning and burdens. History ever teaches, we never learn.
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Where to start….? Let’s write another poem.
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Thank you for the notes explaining your poem, Shaun; I don’t know the Dangerous Girls song or Wasted Youth’s album, but I was aware of Edison and his burning factory. I like the rhyme and rhythm; your poem could be a song, but so much tragedy.
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Very few folks would know the musical references and they are not particularly critical to the meaning of the poem but add a little depth. You are on the money with thinking it could be a song as I consider myself more of a lyricist than a poet and that was a big part of my life in my more youthful days. Tragedy indeed, and that’s why the world needs poets.
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I’m glad you explained the poem. War, hatred, suffering and destruction are the common themes these days. I try not to think of what’s happening, but when you listen to accounts of children dying, women massacred, etc, you can’t help but scream that they stop.
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Whilst we can empathise with people in that situation, we truly can not understand how it must feel. In one moment we can imagine diving for cover at the sound of an approaching bomb, but for us, in the next moment, we can sit back with ice cream. 😢
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Very true.
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Thoughtful and evocative poetry, Shaun. They remind me of Bob Dylan lyrics.
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Thank you. I’m trying to imagine Dylan guttural voice singing the words now.
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You’re welcome 🙂
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Heartbreaking poem, because you are right, there are many burdens Israel will carry as a result of the utter destruction they aim for. They have the power to stop, but as history teaches us, those with the power always go to far in their abuse of it.
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The long term consolation is that those who go too far can never come back.
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