It started just like many other nights
The moon was silver
Stars, merged with errant clouds
Could barely gleam
A lonely owl made much
Of covered darkness
Deserted perch in search
Of prey he’d seen
Still air was clear and calm
Vague scent of roses
Drifted on a whim
Of teasing play
Lungs filled with wonder, sights
All senses tingled
The ending
Of a perfectly good day
Suspected nothing more
My thoughts untroubled
Meanderings so vague
As to forget
Except for something niggling
As I wandered
How fleeting peace and beauty are
And yet
They’re everything that’s striven for
In a lifetime
The beauty felt in love
That knows no end
The comfort of compassion
Peace among us
The value of good neighbours
And best friends
Nothing more than musings
On a pavement
With home nearby
Some yards to reach the gate
When, out of nowhere
Moon and stars blinked, helpless
And shuddered
Ending peace and changing fate
In an instant, all I knew
All I remembered
Of peace and love and beauty
All that’s good
Lay shattered, in the ruins of craven madness
A blitzkrieg, from a neighbour
Chocolate covered
Relaxed, while orphans, widows, now all stood
I turned again
In absence of a reason
Hope blinded at the sights
That I surveyed
How, among the chaos
Was I standing
And what should be the message
I relayed
Hate filled my breast
The need for vengeance
Tragedy demanded
Some new cost
Escalated madness
Justified as
Revenge and payment
For all that I’d lost
I’d find a way to make them pay
For malice
For ignorance
For stealing what was fine
With nothing left to lose
I’d have my vengeance
In the terror that was given
I’d have mine
It started just like many other nights
The moon was silver
Clouds departed
Stars were visible
All peace and beauty
Love nearby, still cherished
The idea of a bomb
Quite risible
I met my neighbour then
While out in moonlight
A person hardly known
Her ways, mere guess
We ventured to establish understanding
In the glory of the peace
That starlight blessed
We chatted for a while
Found common kinship
In the children that we loved
Sworn to protect
Two mothers
Finding harmony
On a pavement
No spectre of an ending to suspect
We turned, upon a whistle
In the distance
Far removed from where we stood
But still
Alarm lay caught
In throats of conversation
While men rule the world
It maybe always will
We stand upon the pavement
Facing judgement
Possibilities
Our Gabbatha
Innocent or guilty
Makes no difference
When condemnation comes
To where we are
scottishmomus 