September 21st 2009 - Peace One Day

These poems were read by the Croydon CND Secretary, Jim Clugston, while a small group of people and press listened.

This event coincided with the Avaaz Climate Wake Up Call event, which was held immediately after the readings. As a group, we circumambulated the fountain in the Queen's Gardens in central Croydon at exactly 12.18pm to the rousing sound of several alarm clocks.

See http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/welcome for more information.

Museum of the New Dinosaurs by Dave Davis

I had a dream where sanity prevailed
A museum where arms were collected
To prove where they had so bloodily failed
How a new morality could be tested

There were swords and spears of all the ages
And all the tubes that spurted steel and flame

Carefully listed in pages and pages
Though their killing powers were much the same

There were chariots there with bladed wheels
A myriad of small and heavy tanks
Like dinosaurs , but instead made of steel
They stood silent, cold and serried ranks

Rockets reared there, like the fingers of doom
Worshipping at the shrines of hard won wealth
A notice board stood bold outside each room
It told us: ALL THESE HAVE DAMAGED YOUR HEALTH

Reading Scheme by Mollie Russell Smith

John said "Father, may I have a gun?
A gun is fun"
Father said "Yes son,you may have a gun
When you are a man' John said 'When I have a gun I will kill bad men'
Father said 'Well done son'

Janet said 'Mother, may I be a nurse? A
Nurse is fun. I could wear a white cap
with a red cross
Mother said 'Yes Janet, a nurse is fine,
A nurse is kind' Janet said
'I will be kind to you when you fall down'

Look John!! See the aeroplane
The aeroplane has a big bomb
A bomb is not much fun 'Run John Run!!'
Run Janet Run! Run Mother Run!'
Run Father Run!
What have we done?

Victims of Hiroshima by Ann Garrett

We must never let them down
By failing to remember

When the cherry trees blossom
In Hiroshimas Peace Park
We must remember

Whenever we see a dove flying
Hear a dove cooing
We must remember

Whenever we fold a paper crane
Hear a bell tolling
We must remember

Read the word- radiation, leukemia
Hiroshima, Nagasaki
We must remember

When cherry blossom falls
And as weapons proliferate
We must remember

We must remember in order
To keep reminding the world
Of the nuclear insanity

Then they will not have died
Or be dying in vain