A Minute's Silence

July, a Friday,
A Minute to Midday.
Let’s pay respects
To those who passed away,

And think
How easily a life
Can be snatched away.

If I had been
On that grave day
Lain upon the beach,
My hand trailing in the sand,
My Dad an arm’s length away,
Snuffed out like
A candle.

Red wax on the sand,
This tyrant with summer blood
On his hands
An arm’s length away.

The minute ends,
Announced on the PA.
We laugh at his odd voice,
Shuffle papers,
And go on about our day.


In memory of the victims of the terror attack in Tunisia, June 2015