Somebody is born, somebody dies

There will be consequences to the plans

we made, there always are;

Seems like somebody gets hurt every time

somebody else stands up tall.

The day arranges its winners and losers like

items at a Greek bazaar,

Somebody’s horse will come from nowhere

to triumph, and somebody’s will fall.

The white moon tonight, the clouds distracted,

They shuffle the light, they dish out

the atmospherics with flair.

Somebody is born, somebody dies, some real,

some parts merely acted,

You light a match and see my look of terror

illuminated in its glare.

There will be lasting damage when this is over,

there are always losers;

You think something is history, then years

later stumble upon its ill effects.

The day peoples its alley with the weary

echoes of dying substance abusers,

Somebody will stand on the bridge in

uniform, and somebody will scrub the decks.

The sharp wind tonight, the air unscented,

It cashes in on the uncertainty, allows autumn

to take the blame,

Somebody is born, somebody dies, some

forgotten, some long lamented,

You strike a match and see my look of disbelief

appear briefly by its flame.

Days and nights stand equally on guard

before us,

Each longer than the last, each armed.

We will defeat each one, but it will be

hard for us.

Their hearts are of darkness,

their doors alarmed.

There will be casualties once the fighting’s

ended, trust me;

Seems like somebody catches an aeroplane

every time somebody else lands;

The day’s credentials don’t look authentic but

I guess they must be;

Someone will triumph in the centre circle,

and someone will sit in the stands.

The sirens tonight, their message amended,

From a single incident to news of society’s

explosive decline,

Somebody is born, somebody dies,

some alone, some warmly befriended,

You’ve used your last match but I can see

your sadness, even if you can’t see mine.

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I snorted a line of poetry

I snorted a line of poetry, it felt good.

Knowing it’s illegal felt even better.

Well, not illegal but misunderstood,

Like an inkpen, like a handwritten letter.

The cops raided my writer’s meet,

Piled like savages into the coffee shop,

Their wild-eyed fury kind of sweet,

A textbook game of good cop/wistful cop.

I’m a banned substance in 2024,

What I believe in, my values, my schtick.

Might need a priest hole under my floor,

The persecution in the air’s so thick.

This used to be my world, my manor,

Not anymore, compadres, I’m on a list.

I could tear my trousers like David Banner,

But the new world would resist.

Come, let’s be disappointed together,

Leave us to be disillusioned in peace.

We can drink wine and complain

about the weather,

Argue about the best songs from Grease.

I inhaled a Shakespeare sonnet, what a buzz.

Knowing the kids would yawn buzzed bigger.

It’s funny feeling the thing Will does,

Defining the truth of us, sketching our figure.

The council stopped my poetry reading,

I was on a street, you see, without a permit,

They don’t like old boys like me succeeding,

Not in public, but okay as a hermit.

I’m a banned substance in 2024,

You mustn’t carry me or intend to supply.

Might need one of those cameras on my door,

Next time the fashion police swing by.

This used to be my world, my manor,

Not anymore it isn’t, I’m condemned.

I appear to represent a significant spanner

In their plan, which we’ll hear in the end.

Come, let’s be disappointed together,

Leave us alone in our room to be proved right.

Let us slag off the forecasters and

predict the weather,

And reminisce about TV on Saturday night.

Times change, that’s okay, but we should

not need to,

Not if we don’t want to, who’s to say we must?

Deconstructing ourselves wasn’t something

we agreed to,

You’ll respect us more for it, once we’re dust.

I injected a gram of Ulysses, could’ve been

coke.

Knowing coke’s much cooler was the hit.

They recommended cannabis but I don’t

smoke.

Joyce don’t make me cough like that other shit.

Health and safety paid me a door knock,

Wanted an inventory of my library books,

Seized two Brontes and a first edition

Brighton Rock.

A crack den next door and we’re the crooks.

I’m a banned substance in 2024,

I’m mainlining literature, they don’t approve.

For neighbourhood bookworms who

want to score,

My place is basically the Louvre.

This used to be my world, my manor,

Not anymore, ladies, I’m cancelled, closed.

Exceeding my literary limit I set off

their scanner,

They came for me while I dozed.

Come, let’s be disappointed together,

We’ll read our books out on the fire escape,

At heights unwuthering, the harebells

and the heather

Can be our secrets, while the others vape.

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