Katyusha, Katyusha by Sean O'Brien A new poem by Sean O'Brien, written in response to the latest phase of conflict between Israel and Hamas

Katyusha rockets blaze across the sky. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty

Katyusha, Katyusha,
Arrow of fire:
Kingdom Come, is it
Below or above?
Choked in a tunnel
With morphine and bread,
Or charred in the wreck
Of an olive grove?
Katyusha, Katyusha,
Spear of desire,
Are there green pastures,
A brave desert rose,
Or must it be prison
With pillars of flame?
Katyusha, Katyusha,