CAVALCADE

It is though, an old, old scene:

The young riders whooping in triumph,
Their prisoner dragged along the ground;
Torture’s trophy in a trail of dust,
Amidst the hammering of hooves
And the beating of bloodlust.

But this is a modern scene:

With two or three riders per motorcycle;
One fires a pistol into the sky
Whilst another films the job,
Amidst the roaring engines
And the baying of the mob.
 
Nothing new under this sun:
No middle ground in the Middle East,
Merely the timelessness of terror
Played out over ancient territory,
Amidst the yammering of religions
And the raising of torture’s trophy.

 

(2012)

There are all sorts of understandable reasons why atrocities
like this continue to happen, but they should never fail to appal us.

I saw the (uncredited) photograph in the i newspaper in late 2012.