and the second one here is a nice example of a poem which is quite, quite bad ...
PECKHAM
The first pass went unnoticed till a beat
Of footsteps later – recognition took
A corner and a sigh to be complete.
The second time, there may have been a look
Before the crossing but the day ahead
Was long and daunting – eyes could not be met.
The third time was deliberate – a bowed head,
A pang of friendship hidden in regret.
The skill one learns in small towns - not offend,
just lightly ignore - sabotages luck
In London – to encounter an old friend.
An instinct to retreat and shun is stuck,
We walk with fear of people in our space
And miss the chance of small moments of grace.
NAIROBI
It’s fun to stay at the YMCA -
The greeting’s warm, the board is great value.
The diocesan office calls to say
They have the paperwork to support you.
As if it’s the arc of the covenant
you bear the note from Bishop Mwaluda
to Kenya’s most generous government,
a welcome in store considerably ruder.
The arrogance of youth is blunted by
A bureaucrat called Kirui who scares
You half to death with threats you can’t defy
And, mocking, strips back all your bullish airs.
“But we came to do good”, you cry in vain.
You’ll never venture to do good again.
No comments:
Post a Comment