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How gentle the Bronze Age must have been

When I look at skulls and swords

Smashed up by the Iron Age hoards

And violence in every trench I've seen

From southern hill forts up to Hadrian's Wall

Where sites are littered with the dead,

Severed limbs and punctured heads,

A tribal arrogance imposed on all;

And art is limited to finding ways

Of ornamenting weapons to

Enhance the status of the few

Who use them to ensure their power sways.

Brian Hick October 2011

©copyright Sally Hick 22.11.23