Apart

Just like the raindrops

That fall from a clear blue sky,

Cultural and financial poverty

Sits amidst the shadows

Of tall towers.

Homes to fancy hotels,

Overpriced dinners

In swanky surroundings,

And a sense of privilege.

Serviced by a zero hours,

minimum waged underclass.

In the Venn diagram of life,

The rich would love to believe

That the social circles never touch.

But as they push,

And bounce off each other,

These bubbles of unreality

Will surely burst.

Stone

All they do is mock
When a man sets out to achieve
While they remain in hock
To corporations
Without clause to leave

It’s easier to berate
To say where another is incorrect
Than to put forth in debate
An alternative
Which can be checked

They keep them hidden away
Policies they haven’t shown
But his will forever stay
Etched out
In a slab of stone

Rumble

Tragedy in Nepal

Shift’s the ground for us all.

Quaking through

The safety of our own lives,

The cracks

Between our lifestyles

Are never so more apparent.

Neither the fissures

That separate our own societies,

Or the belief

That we control nature.

As the mountains rumble,

They speak for the Earth.

Icons of a force

Far stronger than we can wield

Other than our ability

For our own self destruction.

We may feel remote,

But compassion can lend a hand,

And thoughts

Are just as powerful as actions.

Only through social ideas

Of respect, and equality,

Can we drive humanity

To a fairer future,

For planet and population.

Stances

We'll all skip around as springtime is here,
Wave coloured flags so our party is clear,
Celebrate that you can't separate our stances,
Erecting a non-polish pole for our dances.

The Witch Upon the Hill

Upon a hill in the dead of night
The wind did rage about its height
And there a young man saw a sight
That stayed till his end of days.

A silhouette upon the peak
Of spirits dancing cheek to cheek
To this young man so mild and meek
Were such unusual ways.

But drawn he was and he did climb
And with each step felt the flow of time
Slow to a stop; And beauty sublime
He saw on the summit there.

Standing with her back to him
A body long, slender, slim
And wonder filled him to the brim
At her ravishing raven hair.

She turned and fixed a steely eye
A look upon him which did defy
And then turning into a fly
She buzzed about his face.

But he made no move so change again
She did into a clucking hen
A fox, a rabbit, a deer and then
A bride dressed in white lace.

"Love upon you, I do bestow
And when you find her you will know
But be faithful or be struck by woe"
She said, with a piercing gaze.

With that she turned into a mare
With a mane of raven hair
And left the stunned man standing there
As she leaped into the bonfire blaze.

And as the embers floated up
She left a gilded acorn cup
Full of wine which he did sup
And fell into a drowsy state.

Then awaking to the morning sound
He found himself on lower ground
With a shock he looked around
And wondered at his fate.

Was it real or just a dream
He could never quite decide.
But when he found his love and married
Remained faithfully at her side.

Pilgrims

Ringing like bells
Of the empty footsteps
In the cloisters,
The coin in the cash slot
Clangs the tin box.

Cracked bones settle
On the stone cold
Stone slabs of paved floor.
Remembered prayers
Recite themselves
For the long departed souls
Who have forgotten them.

The singing psalms
Dance the flames with their breath
Weaving back and across
In their lighted shape
Of pointed hands to heaven.

For the candles there is company
In the heat and light,
Of warming breath and hope,
Faithful kisses caressing
And sparking out of the dark.

But the pilgrims soon depart.
And darkness creeps
With each and every smoky streamer.

Barrier

They squat with their shields
Armoured in aggression.
Beating our their bounds
With justice that knows no bounds.

Sticks at the ready
To repel legitimate protest.
Breeding violence to cover their own mistakes
And those of the state.

A thin blue protection racket
For those in power.
A human barrier
To public freedom.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32499116

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/27/baltimore-police-protesters-violence-freddie-gray