Aphra Behn, ‘Song: Love Armed’ 

Sujata Bhatt, ‘A Different History’ 

William Blake, ‘The Chimney-Sweeper’ 

Elizabeth Brewster, ‘Where I Come From’ 

Boey Kim Cheng, ‘Report to Wordsworth’ 

Gillian Clarke, ‘Lament’ 

Kevin Halligan, ‘The Cockroach’

 Seamus Heaney, ‘Follower’ 

Liz Lochhead, ‘Storyteller’ 

Charles Mungoshi, ‘Before the Sun’

 Katherine Philips, ‘A Married State’

 Alexander Pope, From ‘An Essay on Man’

 Carol Rumens, ‘Carpet-weavers, Morocco’

 William Shakespeare, ‘Sonnet 18’

Judith Wright, ‘Hunting Snake’

“Lament” by Gillian Clarks is a poem that talks about all the reasons why the poet lamented about the devastating effect that the Gulf War had. She describes how a lot of animals such as birds and sea animals were suffering and also about how nature was being destroyed. 

Gillian Clarke uses sad images of animals to show the damage to nature. For example, she writes about “the green turtle with her pulsing burden,” which means the turtle and her eggs are in danger. She also mentions “the whale struck dumb by the missile’s thunder,” showing how loud and violent war affects even the sea creatures. These images help us feel sorry for the animals, who suffer even though they have nothing to do with war.

She also shows how the environment is damaged. The “shadow on the sea” is from oil spills, which kill sea life and make the ocean dark and dirty. The “cormorant in his funeral silk” is a bird covered in oil, unable to move or live and “the tern, the gull and the restless wader, the long migrations and the slowly dying” are birds who are migrating from their home because of the war but also dying because of it. The poet uses these pictures to show that war pollutes and kills nature.

Clarke also talks about the pain people feel. She mentions “the boy fusilier who joined for the company,” showing that some young men go to war for simple reasons, not knowing how bad it will be. She describes “Ahmed in the closed border” who is a soldier who can't go out of the country because it is close and “The soldier with his uniform of fire” who is also a soldier who is burning alive.  She talks about “the burnt earth and the sun put out,” meaning war brings darkness and sadness to the world.

At the final of the poem, Gillian Clark says “The ashes of language” which makes reference that the peaceful talking between people during war is basically destroyed. Because at war time everybody talks with hate and with vengeance intentions. 

In Lament, Gillian Clarke uses powerful images to help us see the true cost of war. It is not just about battles,  it affects animals, nature, and innocent people. Her poem is a way of mourning for everything that is lost.