English poem on war, peace and economics

This video from London, England says about itself:

15th February 2003: Stop the Iraq War, London

The largest ever civil protest in the history of Great Britain.

Up to 2 million people protested on the streets of London against going to war.

By Robert Maslen from England:

Wednesday 17th February 2016

Psalm

In the wastes of winter’s exile,
an army of peace will meet.

Hunger stalks the tenements.
Wreaths come down from the doors.
There are queues at the rack-rent lender’s,
No silver left under the floor.

In the wastes of winter’s exile,
an army of peace will meet.

Roads open up and swallow us.
The municipal era is dead.
Debt, like an old dog, follows us.
Capital breakfasts in bed.

In the wastes of winter’s exile,
an army of peace will meet.

O, why is the library closing?
O, why’s there no pool anymore?
Why are the bank accounts frozen?
Why is there money for war?

In the wastes of winter’s exile,
an army of peace will meet.

My finger is raised like a sundial.
We sing round a fire in the street.
In the wastes of winter’s exile,
An army of peace will meet.

In the wastes of winter’s exile,
an army of peace will meet.

Robert Maslen is from Bradford. He’s a linguist and researcher with a particular interest in metaphor. Previously he taught English in the UK and Mexico. His poems and stories have appeared in The Frogmore Papers, Flash, Krax, the Bridport Prize anthology and elsewhere.