Sunday 28 December 2014

Please don't be kind to me.



Inalienable Charity.

Please don't be kind to me

I can't bear it's cruelty

or pay the price

of accepting your ideology

and applauding your humanity

Am I not a human being
alive upon the Earth
Do I not have the right
to live upon it
to walk upon it
to associate to communicate
to share in the produce of it's fields

why should any of these

be in your gift of kindness
be in your power to withhold

I have seen kindness
the kindness of those who say
"Thank you"
for tents with rotted canvas
for blankets musty with mould
for food out of date

for one bottle of water

costing one hundred barrels of oil

and one barrel of blood.


Thursday 18 December 2014

Ghosts of the Forest.


They're all dead
that's not exactly true, Gilbert is still alive, if you could call it alive
but he was the most stubborn man I have ever known.
Susannah is dead
and I can remember her running around this garden
playing tricks on anyone willing to be gullible
well we're all gullible now.

The Media have their own slant on the events.

"Gypsies cause massacre of Villagers"

Apparently the  British Environmental Command
cleared the Forest exactly one year ago to the day
of all outlawed reprobate vagabonds.
Returning to conduct a sweep of the forest
the BEC came across the Village reclaim the forest picnic.

Mistaking fireworks for gunfire some of the younger recruits opened fire
this quickly lead to the whole command opening fire.
The Commander Heroically ran in front of the troops
calling out "Cease fire" but tragically was fatally wounded.

This would not have happened if it were not for the fact
that the clearing where the picnic was taking place
is erroneously considered to be a former Gypsy encampment.
All remaining Gypsies will be held accountable for causing this act of barbarity.

Social media testimony of  command recruit:

"We came to the clearing in the forest
it was full of gypsies, hundreds of wagons and tents
and a large crowd of gypsy families all just standing there staring at us.

Our Commander lined us up and then cried out "Fire"

This was what we signed up for, to do our duty
to serve our country, to uphold our laws.
To be the Vanguard of the new moral order.
We all emptied our magazines.

Then the Commander walked forward unholstered his handgun
and began to shoot those cowering behind the trees.
He reloaded his gun looked up then wandered round in circles
he was seeing what we were all seeing
the slaughter of the people from the nearby village.

He fell to his knees and shot himself in the head.



Tuesday 9 December 2014

The Gift.




The Gift.

Yesterday morning
I opened my blind
and looked out from a different window
I was standing in the window
of the empty flat across the street
looking back at myself
I was holding up the lid of a shoe box
with these words written on it
"New Shoes"
Someone else was in the room
they came to the window
and looking over smiled at me
he looked like Kurt Cobain

I decided to do four things
leave the blind open
put up a washing line
wash my clothes
and tidy my flat

This morning
I opened the blind
and looked out from my window
A woman was moving into the flat across the street
I went over and helped her with her things
it wasn't difficult

Sitting on the steps drinking coffee
she said to me
"I don't care what I have
as long as I have peace"

I replied

"You know you're asking a lot"

"I know" she said
"But at least I've made a beginning"

"Well you've come to the right place
this is the street of new beginnings"

"Hurt" she said
"Is like an opening in the soul
it can be a matter of windows
from one window it looks like a pit
but from another window
it can look like the ground
has been dug out and prepared
prepared for the foundation
of a new beginning

To this I replied

"In my flat I have a sofa bed
I never use it in fact it's just in the way
I'd be grateful if you'd take it off my hands"

"I'll pay you for it" she replied

"Only if you pay me what I gave for it
I got it as a gift'
it's not much to look at
but it's comfortable and practical"

"Comfortable and practical'
sounds just what I need"
she said, slipping off her shoes
and then she said
"Look at my feet'
they look like two victims of trying to fit in
both carrying the marks of the past
I swear if I have to go barefoot
I'll never wear these shoes again"

"I doubt if you'll have to if you're willing to go barefoot"

She looks at me "I'm also willing to get new shoes"

"I know the very place"

"I believe you do and you can take that as a compliment
because right now that is one of the few things I do believe"

"Compliments, that is something I'm not used to"

"Well here is something for you to believe
you haven't missed much"

I looked into the face
of this world weary woman
and could see the eyes
of a hurt little girl welling up with tears
I struggled for something to say
and then realized I didn't have to say anything.



Saturday 6 December 2014

Thursday 4 December 2014

Just So.


just as you are
just bring yourself
just between you an' me
just arrived
just ran out
just kiddin'
just sits there
just an excuse
just in time
just give it a chance
just in
just out
just misst' it
just not working out
just have to face it
just because
just stop it...right
just a half pint
just a small one then
just a minute
just drove straight by (and it was raining)
just selfish
just a dream
just sick
just tell me what you want
just a thought
just get out of my face
just don't push your luck
just think it over
just past the house with the blue gate
just be yourself
just heard
just take your time
just do your best
just a hiccup
just as you say
just flew off the handle
just lost it
just try
just not what I expected...that's all.