#1383 - four poems mourning the Voice

 

1383

15.x.23

4.288

four poems mourning the Voice  

 

the great victory

 

of fear over faith

suspicion over trust

dark past over bright future

 

of spite, of lie

of blind ambition

 

of nothing-to-see

over what-happens-here

 

a victory of the disinfomers

of the treacherous

of the cheats, pretenders

of those not-who-they-say-they-are

of true colours

scratch the skin, you’ll see

 

victory of the ones who’ve been bought

victory of anger over calm

 

victory of denial

 

victory of doubt over decision

of hate over the friendly hand

of the past over what could have been

 

victory of selfish over kind

of us over them

of me over we

 

victory of wrongmind

of unthink

 

victory of old dark intention

victory of the poisoned flour

the smallpox blankets

 

victory of ignorance

of why bother to find out

 

victory of not wanting to know

and no one can make me

 

a kind of Groundhog Day

great victory of silence

 

we fail the simplest of tests

 

now we are mourning ourselves again

 

this, we now should have known all along

is just where we always were

 

we tried to build a bridge

 

buried slaves under the pylons for luck

it’s because we had been offending each other

 

two shores – and here’s a paw stretched out

 

but who would dare to row, to sail

the monster and the clashing rocks

 

the bridge was always sinking

 

sinking as we built it

sinking as we crossed

 

so many must drown

before it is finished

 

though most perhaps will never have seen

 

our bridge is a catastrophe

 

the traffic as heavy as ever

 

what choice?

the bridge won’t hold our weight

 

so many languages – who understood?

 

some days they’ll come waving a flag

and those ones catch fire

 

others plummet from the deck

 

but we are building this bridge

it’s needed

 

without it – how is there getting across?

 

nevertheless a glimmer

the bridge a vigil

 

we mourn it falling

while we build

 

there’s nothing will stop us now

 

still we keep coming on

 

day-after instructions

a solidarity of loss

 

do not let gloom overtake

 

I came to the rock and wept

this was the stone in my heart

 

perhaps it’s so for you?

 

denial leads to refusal

this is where we have always been

 

let us console

there are more of us than ever now know

what it is we must make right

 

the problem is  talking to ourselves again

who will disagree?

 

we could set up a selection committee

to choose another people

but

 

this was a NO to reasonableness

it was ‘I want to whinge instead’

that’s what this NO said

 

and that’s the ship we turn around

 

let’s have a new flag

a new song, hell, why not …

let’s jam!

 

I came to the rock and wept

this was the stone in my heart

 

it’s where the gift is refused

it’s just this much less we are

 

 

 

 

up to our old darkness again

 

reflect it in another skin

 

hearts down from hope

 

an accusation in the mirror

 

old habits, you know

 

we’ll start our little silence now

tell you when we’re back