Whilst searching for information about the poetry below, I came across an article written by Michael Leunig on Anzac day of this year.

I heartily encourage it's reading, as it is a brave and thoughtful observation. One point which is most pertinent to me and the nature of the work I am endeavouring to share is excerpted below..

"And even more surreptitious are the myriad ghosts of war, which return from the battles, banalities and atrocities and attach themselves to the civil situation, entering destructively into the living culture of the nation. This inevitable, postwar militarist invasion of the homeland demands much reparation and imposes hugely on civil society, domestic life and the new generation. Grim authoritarianism, paranoia, guilt, fundamentalism, hostility, bitter or brutal outlooks and a difficulty with Eros, beauty and the feminine are all aftermath qualities that insinuate or assert themselves into family and institutional life with profound consequences. The remnant tones and gestures of war become normalised and the character of society is rewired. The violent, frightened mentality and fetishism of war, the domineering impulse, and the addiction to the "evil other" forever corrupt, disfigure and limit the societies that wage and prosecute the violent solution. A nation may win a war but its people can't get away with it"

Although Michael may be speaking metaphorically, his perspective is very similar to my own (at times). Whether one adopts the metaphor of Jungian archetype or Shamanic Underworld or Buddhist Realm of Hungry Ghosts, there is an almost ubiquitous cultural recognition of the power and autonomy of these realms of consciousness. That their influence is strongly felt in the realm of human affairs is also a widely posited theory. I feel that it behooves us all to recognise that we live in a nation which is at war, regardless of our acceptance of that position or otherwise, and to be particularly attentive to the currents of consciousness which that engenders .

May Peace Prevail

Simon