They Day They Poisoned Us Inside

Brendan Curran ✒ with a poem describing the Long Kesh fire in 1974.

The helicopter dropped the silver cans, we didn’t know what was inside
We couldn’t get away from it, the breeze blew it far and wide
They took the blood tests much later, but it could not stem the tide
The gas had poisoned our bodies, many good comrades were to die

The prison camp was smouldering, the twisted tin lay on its side
The cages gates were open, prisoners wandered from every side
The radio said the riot was over, everyone was locked safe back in their cells
But the massive prison riot was about to turn all our lives into a hell

We spent the long night wandering, after all the burning was done
We waited for the riot squad, now that we had had our fun
We burned their biggest prison, the largest IRA attack of all time
Daylight was fast approaching, and a punishment for the crime

The prisoners stood in lines four deep, waiting inside the prison gate
An eerie cam swept over us, as we began the revengeful wait
We were thinking of our families, fearing our life might soon be gone
The cold mist wrapped around us as we shivered waiting for the dawn

The chopper broke the silence, as it swooped towards us fast and low
It’s large grey door slid open, the SAS men’s faces smiling all aglow
They pitched the deadly canisters, the chopper swayed from side to side
We were unaware that this deadly gas would rot us from inside

The battle became so ferocious, our braveness couldn’t be put down
The order came to use the “Gas”, put the bastards to the ground
The prisoners fought like lions, despite the enemy all around
The gas crazed us instantly, we fell blinded and choking on the ground

Now the long years have come to pass, sadly we reaped what they have sown
The illegal CR gas they poisoned us with, has made our bodies glow
For decades we have been dying, not one raises a cry....
Except that day in the prison ground, where many were sentenced for to die.

⏩ Brendan Curran, The Poet without a Pen