Still More Poems

Unspoken

On an unholy war

You hear those cries
As children die
Amidst the folly of a blood-soaked war
And say nothing
You heed the anguish
Of those distressed mortals
Whose venerable dwellings
Have just been turned into debris and dust
And say nothing
You perceive the wailing
Of those war-torn souls
Close to death without food and water
And say nothing
You notice
The anguish of those people
Now utterly without a native land to call their own
And say nothing
You listen duteously
To the fascistic war cries
In your own belligerent country
And say nothing
Now the fascists
Strike blows against all people and things you love
Bringing you disaster and death
You still say nothing
As you are alone
Amidst the chaos of your infinite self interest

Black Tribute

You are so kind
Gently tending to my aching body
Feeling my pulse
Reading my data
On the blood pressure machine
Scanning
My eyes and ears for disarray
Cautiously seeking
The sources and extent of my pain
Softly speaking to me
Hearing my faltering words
With understanding
And not a trace of condemnation
Despite the vastness of my age
The distortion of my battered body
The unyielding uncertainty of my human existence
How merciful you are
Tender, compassionate, benign
A doctor true to her noble profession
I thank you with all my heart
No
Your hands are not cold as you suggest
They are considerate, understanding, humane
And black as the darkest night
How lucky I am
That our psyche has no colour
Neither black nor white

Evil Is As Evil Does

Ah yes
I hear your tirade against your political foes
Lies aplenty
Fake superlatives
Decrying the humanity and virtue of your rivals
Oh
How your followers
Swallow your tainted food
A repast for the brain dead mob of acolytes
Who wave banners
And proclaim collusion
For every ugly, sordid lie you utter
Look at you
Orchestrating the responses of your bewildered herd
Clapping your hands
In time with your orchestrated deceit
Moving your aged bulky body
To a rhythm of craftiness and guileful duplicity
In your fraudulent devil dance
That’s it then
Full speed ahead we must go
Along the road to deadly political ruination
A fake salvation for the nation
Amidst your crafty solicitous ovation
No no no
That president would be a god of the underworld
A Hades* of sorrow
A doom that must not loom tomorrow

*Hades, in ancient Greek religion was a god of the underworld

An Absolute Solution

I wonder why
Although
Misfortune dogs my daily life
Casts shadows although there is no sun
Chills my heart although there is no frost
Blows me away although there is no wind
I still find order in the disarray
Comfort in the cold
Shelter in the icy blast
Tranquility in the tempests of worldly anger
I ask myself
Why
When the world is rife with struggle
Torn apart by competitive outrage
Riven by political intrigue
Rent by racial prejudice
My mind still knows a restfulness
Kindness in another’s inconvenience
Alliance with my rivals
Understanding of activist causes
Compassion for alien strangers
Suddenly
I find the answer
A solution to this my gentle problem
A reason for my tranquility
My repose
My peace of mind
For amidst the bathos of existence
I have found someone who loves me

Olympic Victory

We lost
Vanished is our dream
All that training gone to waste
The glory that we sought
Lies smothered in the litter of failure
Our deeds
Now have but brief mention by the newsreader
Our sponsors
Now will seek greener pastures
Out coach
Now will suddenly find himself redundant
Our fans
Now will suddenly examine their loyalty
And what of us, the players?
What now is our destiny?
Aha!
A worthy question
Where do we the losers stand?
Note well this answer
We the vulnerable
In the face of a challenge
Have hoped to win but dared to lose
We the players
Are so different from sport’s other add-ons
When we win, we triumph
But even though we lose
We have been there in the arena daring greatly
Boldly in that place
Where timid souls never venture
So in defeat
That is in itself a victory

royciebaby