Years after

 Years after

Years after the atomic war

We thought we were the only ones

Living on world’s edge

In caves beneath the cliffs. 

Our little group had somehow

Missed the blast and aftermath

The birds our only neighbours now

And the fish that swim the seas 

Our only food for three years now 

With no way of finding out

How many others ducked and dived

If only we the lucky had survived

It seemed to us bewildered human beings

Who by chance were still alive 

Reduced to fish and bird eggs

Memories of a thousand years ago.

Gone the belching factories of before

Gone the cars and trains and planes

The busy streets, the concert halls,

The music and art and poetry.

No way back to our lives before

The days turned black for months on end

Until the stillness had overcome

And silence ruled o’er one and all. 

And then behold a boat appeared

It saw our fire upon the shore

Bearing news we were not alone

Hundreds in Scotland and even more.

They brought us food upon the boat

And news and cheer and sadness too

That few had managed to escape

The madness of mankind’s making. 

We thanked them for their kindness

For their offer to sail with them 

Leave behind our makeshift hovels 

On the shore beneath the craggy cliffs. 

But this was home now, sanctuary

Suspicious all of foreign travels

Scarred by history, fearful of future

Grateful for life’s small mercies.