Back to index of Nerve 18 - Summer 2011

Poetry Corner

'THEY SAY' by Yahya

They say there is a dragon that needs slaying,
But yet this dragon has not yet attacked people.
They say they love other cultures,
But yet this dragon is multiculturalism.
They say they come to defend from this dragon,

But yet they attack everyone.

They say they come in peace,

But yet again they attack everyone.

They say they represent the people,

But yet they betray them with lies and violence.

They say they represent the land,

But yet they destroy it, and betray its people and its memory.

They say they are the knights in armour,

But yet their weapons are the sword of hate and shield of lies.

These knights from the far-right are known as Sir Hate-a-lot.

'PAST PERFECTED' by Val Walsh

The past grips you
in its vice. Provides
the bench mark for
the present. The model
for the future. Your target.

But the past was just
as complex. Equally
awkward as the present.

The past grips you
in its vice. Prevents
you venturing out
unarmed. Into unfamiliar
playgrounds.
The past resounds
and echoes. Tripping
memory, tricking sense.
Engulfing energy.

You guard it with your life,
which it continues
to consume,

reclaiming you
each time love threatens
to intervene.

Love,

always present, not past,
cannot compete.

You let it go.
Again.

Your comfort zone must
be preserved,
kept in tact.

And perfect.

Poem by Jeff Morris

Time shifting cut up snapshots
From an artist’s angry hands
No soft touch introduction
To these frames within a frame
A black edged recurring vision
Subverts seduction edged in gold
The devil in the detail of
Forked tongues and lightning flashes
Striking repeatedly those of us
Who fall prey to chemical dependency
In whatever form it’s sold
And yet there still remains the gold....
Attractive and desired, a standard to aspire to
Always beyond reach
As the boy within the frame is lost to us forever
Or, if you believe in spirits he’s somehow always near
Though the only spirit visible is distilled by human hand
And is always dark or clear.
Experience, personality and imagination
Dominate the viewer
Leaving little room to manoeuvre
Discomforting the viewer
So many images simultaneously
Fighting for attention
Posing questions of the viewer
And demanding that we answer.
We stand outside the frame, yet trapped.
Reflecting on this cruel and brutal mirror.

Printer friendly page