We is here
We is staying
stay put we
more matters Earth
Earth protect we
we have spoken
we will speak
we will stay
until you too
say we stay
Earth love we
beautiful earth we
beautiful creatures we
beautiful life we
not die we
not die she
Earth sorry we
no more we
Earth protect we
Is you here?
in the 1800 block of Houston Street
in grimy Greenwich Village back
in the turbulent limbo of the 60s
..
that walk up cold water tenement flat
was a dream for a coal miner’s son
fleeing reality of Nam & poverty
..
printing press operator by day
fedora’d longing poet by night
searching for whatever could be
..
took another name & age
premature gray hair brought
no suspicion to that resurrected life
for Shep Doeleman* & Dimitrios Psaltis*
Nobel in your hands,
Isn’t it? Men win again—
History written.
*Event Horizon Telescope Project
—
They — the ubiquitous, omnipresent they —
Told me
Loudly, and in no uncertain terms
That I was not sad.
That I was better off, really
(so much better off, honey, really).
They — the all-knowing, all-seeing they —
Told me
Frequently, so that I wouldn’t (couldn’t ever) forget
That I was chosen.
That it was for the best, really
(so much better off, don’t be ungrateful, really).
They — the powers-that-be they —
Told me
How I felt
How I didn’t feel
How I was allowed to feel
(I’m better off, I won’t be ungrateful, really.)
They
Told me.
But I am no longer a child
And I will no longer be hushed
I will whisper it into the dark
Until someday
I
Will tell
Them.
I know you think you’re free to come and go.
To one day be so high, you touch stars.
You think you’re free, to spend some days
so low you hardly breathe, while blood
and broken bones, putrefy beneath your bed.
Ease you say, comes quick –
but only when you stick the needle in.
I know you think you’re free to stand
on that street corner and remain intact-
in fact, I think I’m free to tell you
that you may survive: just.
What bunny can I buy
the chocolate kind.
How can I post it flat
I’d have to break it into pieces.
Is milk chocolate by the sweets
or near the till.
Do they still sell rubber bands
and balls of string.
Where can I find plain packaging.
Someone’s moved the tea again
I swore I saw it, yesterday.
How can I post a bunny
flat. Where did I put
my purse, my hat
who is that man
he’s waving.
Is he my son
no he’s in Oz.
Oh I don’t know
how time moves on.
My watch has stopped
yes he’s in Oz. I think
I’ve mentioned this before.
It’s strange, this feeling
strange, a floppy sort of feeling
…………………………….like I’m bleeding …
..
Chaucer Cameron is a poet living in Wiltshire; she is the creator of Wild Whispers, 2018 an International Poetry Project. She has co-edited three collections of Poetry…
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A shield for those who have courage and take the risk,
a crowbar for those put in cages, persecuted and tortured,
a megaphone for those who have been silenced,
a memory that will not forget, no matter how stealthy the lies,
remote the dungeon or weak the muted voice
speaking truth to power from behind thick walls.
Who dares defile the sacrament of word?
Try to silence one of us and a hundred will speak out.
Try to lock one of us up and a thousand keys appear.
Murder one and 100 thousand poets will expose you
in permanent ink, at open mic, on the stage of the world
where we resurrect the souls of fallen comrades
and lay tyranny bare on the open page for all to see.
Make war, and we’ll be there. Refuse the sick or hungry care,
we’ll be there; exploit the poor or the vulnerable…
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View original post 603 more words
Sharpened steel is a rate of exchange,
a language to the point, a one liner,
blade delivers its simple message,
distils it all, reduces prey
to a single wordless transaction,
as if blood alone is currency,
light on steel flashes a stainless smile,
though it’s not a full-face portrait,
just teeth looking to bite, unthinking eyes
that’ve shrunk their victim
from subject to object,
to obstacle.
reubenwoolley 