It was reported by soldiers who were embroiled in the horrors and trauma of trench warfare at the Western Front, that the sound of larks could be heard in the early morning skies above the carnage of the battlefield and the monstrous thunder of artillery cannons

And so, I ask myself today …

Is there birdsong in Gaza

Amongst the rubble and the ruins?

Are sparrows heard

Beneath the threatening drones?

Drowned in the apocalyptic dust and destruction

Silenced by the thunderous skyward cannonade.

And in Ukraine

Amongst the netted forest trees

And the camoufage of weaponry

Do birds still build their nests in spring?

And sing their chirping songs

To the weary troops?

Or do they lie silently on blackened fields of destruction?

And will they never sing again?

Jennifer K. Bradshaw