The middle man confuses,
removes us from reality,
the nature of the enemy.
The chaos of this world
mimics the frenzy of our minds,
the history buried deep,
the forgotten glory of the past
which we cannot see.
What really happened
Annihilation more than once
Save us from this fate
He took me up high into the clouds to show the four corners of the earth. As far as the eye could see, the great extent of the cosmos – the perfection of His design. Then I knew this was no accident. My destiny was written; to be present to witness the coming change.
Waking up is birth Vast vision lays out the truth Glory eternal
Some arresting civil war portraits,
they are not easy to share.
Two young men posing awkwardly,
bow ties for battle, their absent smiles
due to the long exposure.
A picture may say a thousand words
but raises profound questions too.
It’s brother versus brother,
one in blue, the other in gray
and no quarter will be given,
courtesy of sponsors miles from the front.
There’s no fear in their eyes,
only the vacancy of open fields.
They will show allegiance to their flag,
let’s hope it protects them.
Both think their causes are just,
but many have come this way
and many more will follow –
in the name of liberty.
Their country may need them
but is it theirs?
These faded pictures
Forgotten names of young men
Sacrificial pose
copyright Francis Barker 2020
*To the uninitiated, a haibun is the combination of a prose poem and a haiku.
Ciscography 