So I’ve shown you The Black Diamond (Den Sorte Diamant) a while back, but not this gem of a garden hidden behind it. I intended to share these photos much earlier, but I honestly there are so many pictures piling up on my computer that I forget about, and I can’t keep track of what […]
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.
Take me back to the lavender days,
those times of relative calm
and red telephone kiosks
littered throughout this land.
Heaven knows it wasn’t perfect
and complaints abounded,
though I’m sure we handled crises
so much better then,
before we got too hung up on the news.
The red booths are still there
and the lavender too,
though the phones are long gone
and the flowers’ rich hue seems lost.
