Some slightly better poems...

As always, many thanks to 'Da Bomb' for looking these over and not pissing herself in hysterical laughter.

'Q without the A'

A temporary distraction prompts
an unexpected retrospection.

Why did you lie to those who loved you blue,
choosing instead to yield willingly to those
who would exploit and abuse you?

I try again to detect a sliver of a clue.

I conclude that there is no answer.
I finish my coffee, whisper a prayer
and return to my newspaper.

8th May 2005, Another Place


'Berlin, Buenos Aires, Belgrade...'

Prophets look forwards,
castigated as madmen, and
historians look backwards,
their verdicts judging the long forgotten.

Scientists undermine them
both with theory and practice.

Politicians exploit the
weak and ignorant meek,
selling the seductive sweet.

But dictators are all this and more.
Dispensing charisma,
institutionalising loyalty –
marking the innocent as guilty
and creating a new mythology.

Pause and take note;
it’s not mere anecdote.

16th April 2005, The South Bank, London


'...and another thing -'

It was above all,
a victory for populism.

What use is democracy?
It’s just the illusion of choice.

We told the people there was no choice;
we made them understand.

What was that? Oh!
Our convictions?
We locked them up.

8th May 2005, Berkshire