New war poem by Seamus Heaney

January 18, 2006 The Guardian has printed Heaney’s poem, "Testimony", alongside two other war poems, "America, America" by Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef and "A Bummer" by Vietnam veteran Michael Casey. The three poems will appear in 101 Poems Against War, a new anthology that is published by Faber and Faber on March 3.

Heaney’s poem is not an overt anti-war statement as such. It calmly recollects the arrival of "the Yanks" in a small country village: "Armoured cars and tanks and open jeeps./ Sunburnt hands and arms./ Unnamed, in step,// Hosting for Normandy."