Analysis of A Brief Moment of Remembrance

A Brief Moment of Remembrance     
    In Memory of Anna Politkovskaya (1958-7th Oct. 2006)
         (Westminster Abbey, 13.30 hrs, 13 Oct, 2006)

When Brian Haw, that stubborn weather-beaten figure,
scourge of the parliamentary warmongers
and all of us who by our mere indifference
are in some small way complicit in torture,
dressed in his usual hard hat
studded with dozens of badges of peace,
stepped forward with a single purple petal
and placed it carefully on the ground
at the Innocent Victims Memorial
near the West Door of Westminster Abbey
beside the photos of the beautiful face
of Anna Politkovskaya,
gunned down for heeding her conscience
and ever daring to expose the truth,
it meant far more than all the expensive wreaths
and all the sincere speeches in her remembrance
spoken here so far from her native land,
most of them drowned in the din of London traffic
on that hot October day in Ramadan,
a brief moment for some to consider
the transience of life, selfless love,
and the inhuman and ever
enduring depravity of man,
and when dear Vanessa placed a finger to her lips
and blew you a gentle kiss,
all eyes in that small crowd were filled with tears.