you stood, blair,
white against white
till, in this land growing brown,
you were, by white,
struck white
who was blair peach,
we ask the children in blair peach school
and they do not know
the winners of the blair peach award
have never read the lyrics of ralph mctell
never sighted the radiance of peach
crossing the boundary
between new zealand and this country
crossing the boundary between this
world and the next
did you glimpse why the emperor zhu houcon
yellowed china by the flames
greying his own navy
or why the tokugawa iemitsu
bloodied his own people
did you suddenly spot why argentina declined
from being the richest country in the world
did you foresee russia closing under putin
india under modi
america under trump
england ruled by the people you resisted
they want to freeze
what you were struggling to keep flowing
you lost colour
we gained
so we dare to cross the boundary
take the blair as our own
we breathe peach air
peach blood flows in our veins
we blare, glare, flare
Peach.
• Author’s Note: This poem is written in memory of Blair Peach, the New Zealander who was killed by members of the SPG (a specialist unit at that time in the Metropolitan Police Force) during an anti-racism demonstration in Southall, in April 1979. Public dismay at the killing, as well as police cover-ups following that for several years (combined with other contributory factors) led to the 1971 Brixton riot, and to the Public Inquiry by Lord Scarman, with consequent changes in the law. A school in Southall is named after Peach, the National Union Teachers has since 2010 given the Blair Peach Award each year to recognise work on equality and diversity, One For Blair (anthology of poems) was edited by Chris Searle (1989), The 2-Tone Story album is dedicated to Peach’s memory, and there are many others who wish to keep Peach’s legacy from being extinguished.
•• Please note that “blair” is Scots for “field”