That’s not genocide

That’s not genocide

Of course they are killing people by the thousands

Tanks and bombs and missiles from the sky

Hospitals are working day and night to save lives

So more bombs were needed to wipe the hospitals out

This meant so many more had to be left to die

Still they resisted so new approaches were needed

Why not deny them food except for the crumbs

Slow starvation so that they would eventually die

Whilst pretending that the offered crumbs were aid

Malnutrition of infants had its use for the oppressor

Pregnant mothers would they hoped soon abort

Why not kill the doctors so even fewer survive

Maybe journalists as well to ensure no truth leaks out

In an era where freedom of speech risks repercussion

Should anyone remain they must be driven from the land

But first label them as terrorists and not refugees

Even the toddlers who are not as high as knees

A land which after all is nothing but prime real estate

Why not deny they are a nation or even a state

Then nobody will give a damn about their fate

If they are terrorised sufficiently they will try to leave

In the hope that other nations will receive

Apparently none of this counts as genocide

To the leaders who choose to close their eyes

To those whose aim is to murder and destroy

Yet each act is genocide in law

How did we sink to such depravity

Why are we failing to question a mentality

That accepts leadership with such insanity

Can you look your own children in the face

To tell them such deeds are normal and fine

That all this is part of a greater western design

Where evil is intended to triumph in time

Copyright: David Hopcroft September 2025

The End of the Beginning

The End of The Beginning

They came in the sky at night with their bombs

I saw my school razed to the ground

Then in tanks to roam the streets

Looking like wolves hunting down a prey

Destroyed our homes and told us to flee

Gathering the few things we could we fled

To the area they had reserved

This was the ghetto they had created

Then came the blockades

Denying us medicines and then food

We watched the sick wither away

Old ones starved to protect the young

They try and force us from our home

They want us to leave the land of our birth

To be dumped upon some foreign soil

An uncertain future filled with suspicion

They said we were only animals

Our lives had no value to them

But they wanted the coast for a resort

So we had to be removed for the rich

Our land just a piece of real estate

To be traded in a world thriving on hate

Whilst nations looked on standing idly by

With no real interest whether we live or die

Copyright: David Hopcroft April 2025

Christmas in Palestine

Christmas in Palestine

Death is floating in the air

Like tinsel streaming from above

Missiles are heading out your way

Bringing evil and hate not love

There is no Christmas dinner on a plate

Only starvation with food stopped at the border

Children slowly dying as others celebrate

This is called a western new world order

Bombs are falling from the skies

There is no nocturnal star of hope

Others feast whilst the child dies

Suffocated by the western yoke

Any thread of hope is quickly seized

The desert shall be your bed tonight

Only one voice will be believed

The horror of your world kept from sight

Your tents are burned the manger too

The innkeeper stands guard with a gun

Saying this world has no place for you

Shepherds with their flock hit by a bomb

Wise men sit down and pontificate

Passing resolutions in your favour

Their words are flooded out by hate

That’s Christmas with a western flavour

Copyright: David Hopcroft December 2024

The Soap Opera of War

The Soap Opera of War

The image had been formed over a hundred years ago

A Wild West of guns and bullets with lead flying everywhere

Just how much was true I’m not sure we’ll ever know

The movies glamourised the scene now we don’t care

Then a couple of World Wars added more material

Cameras were rolling as war planes filled the skies

Appealing to a part of the brain that is vestigial

An area that gets excited each time someone dies

Great movies were made but then came television

A chance to bring the deadly screen into your home

The horrors of reality subjected to inhibition

Now the slaughter is available on your mobile phone

Eventually the brain was numbed and people wanted more

The days of make-believe gave way to reality

The people were tired of shows they needed a real war

Their thirst met by the leaders who craved depravity

Businesses were booming with sales of missiles and tanks

There is nothing like a war to boost the economy

In mansions on private islands rich men give thanks

Whilst leaders incite hatred in every young wanna be

Actors and actresses no longer dominate the screen

Now flak-jacketed tin-hat reporters are the stars

Competing for ratings with the terrifying gruesome scene

And all that we are left with are the corpses and the scars

Copyright: David Hopcroft October 2024

The Gaza Hotel

The Gaza Hotel is a general comment about the horrors of war and how others look the other way.

It’s a bloody strange place is the Gaza Hotel

The windows are blown out and they broke down the door

The food was all taken we were left to starve

You climb through the rubble when you check in

You’ll leave in a body bag when you check out

You may wonder why we have had to stay here

We are not here by choice we came here from fear

For we used to have a few hectares on the West Bank

It’s a bloody strange place is the Gaza Hotel

We sent out for food to stop us from starving

But the delivery boy was killed by a missile

They missed him first time but got him with the third

The lifts out of order but don’t fall down the stair

Because you’ll find that the hospital’s no longer there

I rang for room service a sniper spotted my light

The bullets came it’s a way of saying Good Night

It’s a bloody strange place is the Gaza Hotel

Once you’ve checked in you may never check out

There’s nowhere that wants you and nowhere to go

You’re just another person waiting to die

You’re not allowed to be a refugee and you may cry

So you’re stuck in this hell hole to live like a rat

There will be no escape you are here to stay

In the Gaza Hotel there’s no going away

Copyright: David Hopcroft April 2024

The Priest and the Beggar Woman

The Priest and The Beggar Woman

“They are a real nuisance out there

Cluttering up the steps with their bowed heads

Bowed as if in prayer

Asking for even the smallest coin

They really make the entrance look untidy

And they are unclean”

Said the priest to the bishop

As he poured another glass

Of Château de Stinking-rich

She had tried before to get help

From behind those thick oak doors

Gazed at the colours of the windows

With their depictions of the saints

Looked at the silver decorating the altar

And that huge painted barometer

That showed how much had been raised

To restore the roof of the church

“I don’t mind them applying

They have a right to that

But letting them in

Well that is something very different

After all

They are not even of our faith”

The bishop was certain he was right

As he sipped from his glass

And took a bite

From his salmon and cucumber sandwich

Crusts removed

Of course

Now she begged outside on the steps

Denied the right to work

Let out of the walled centre

For just a few hours a day

Service days were poor

Most just passed her by

Being careful to look the other way

“Do you have those tickets for Lords

Should be a great game

Pretty evenly matched”

Said the priest

Looking forward to a lunch

With the members

Perhaps he would also get an invite

To Wimbledon

No harm in praying for that

A stranger passed by

Dropping several coins in the bowl

At her feet

Then another and another

The coins were falling into the bowl

She looked up seeking their faces

But they seemed to be hidden

The bowl was filled

She prayed silently to give thanks

She hastened back to the centre

Pausing only to spend the coins

On warm clothing and shoes

Some books

And a few toys

Which she would send

Back to the refugee camp

In her homeland

For those who could not escape

Copyright: David Hopcroft October 2023