Still More Poems

Alternative Reality

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” George Orwell

It’s time for change

Just listen to him
He seems to live in a parallel universe
Lies to the right of him
Lies to the left of him
Misinformation in between
What an intrepid schemer he is
Deception flows from his tongue
Like ooze from an active Vesuvius
Condemning his opponents as villains
Lying about everything relevant to his goals
Praising himself like Narcissus loudly reincarnated
That’s it then
“The time has come,” the Walrus said*
To give respect to the slang word kibosh
To end the charade
To let justice have its say
To recognise and expose deception
To kill the demons that savagely distort truth
That’s it then
Be it known
Forever and a day
Or longer if the spirit moves you
Let the orators proclaim across the world
This man will never ever ever ever ever get my vote
Quod erat demonstrandum

*From Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll satirising the abuse of power and greed. “The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax— Of cabbages—and kings— And why the sea is boiling hot— And whether pigs have wings.”

Dancing Shoes

There are my old dancing shoes
Look at them
Quite dishevelled aren’t they?
Lying there now unused
The soles almost worn through
A tattered relic of my past
What memories they conjure forth!
Ah yes
The quick-step
How excited we were, she and I
Laughter and fun in her eyes as we spun
Round and round and round
Like liberated children
Easily keeping up with the whirlwind music
Then a stronger memory
Ah yes
The jazz waltz
How close we were
Slowly sliding amidst the harmony
Love in her eyes
As I heard the angels sing
With the lights turned low appropriately
Ah yes
What a treasure recollection is
She is long dead now
And I am blundering on in my infirmity
Walking stick dependent
In danger of falling with every step I take
But the mind has mountains
And I’m standing atop one now
Because of those shoes I am not alone

It’s Called A Game

Just look at them
Hurtling themselves
Devastatingly towards each other
Crushingly
So unflinchingly
And so destructively
Beware of empathy
Or you’ll feel the pain when they pound
Clash against each other
You must be brave
Ignore the agony
Get up and run back to your place
Be ready for the next onslaught
Mann the guns
For whoever runs towards you
What is that oval object they are carrying?
Is it a bomb?
Or a precious thing
More valued than life itself?
And look at those people cheering
The gladiatorial crowd
The mob
The horde
The Coliseum flock
You must please them
Crush the enemy
Or adroitly escape his clutches
And cross the Siegfried Line**
That all warriors lust to pass
As the bystanders pay their fees to gape

**The Siegfried Line was a German “last wall” line in World War II.

Follies Listed

The military industrial complex
Is a thriving entity
Funded by the deaths of countless souls
Google Wiki’s
List of destroyed heritage
And your sad mind
Will be sickened
By the loss of so much of our past
Climate is still our danger
Heated by the greed
Of moneyed entrepreneurs
Education
Remains burdened
By unnecessarily excessive costs
Alcohol and tobacco
Continue to be
Part of flourishing fatal enterprises
Needed medicine
Stays
Out of reach for countless patients
Poverty persists
For an appalling number
Of our suffering fellow humans
Lawyers are still employed
Concerning a host of criminal acts
So get you gone
You political deceiver
You structured dreamer
You architect of your own fortunes
With your clinical, self-satisfied smile
Don’t you dare tell me
This is a golden age

royciebaby