Tuesday 28 November 2017

SMITH and MARIAH : An Allegory


 SMITH and MARIAH




Smith 3661(a Single Minded Individually Tasked Humanoid) was going about his business in his usual competent way. This is what he was programmed to do. This particular task and no other. At any point he could reprogram of course and would then carry out that task with equal efficiency. People like him, that's what they were there for. To just get on with the job at hand.  Nothing would distract him, or interfere with his single minded devotion to his set task.  He was hard wired that way and nothing anyone said would change it. 

Back at home  Mariah 2750 (a Multi-tasking Auto-Response Inter Active Humanoid) was also doing her job.  Smith didn't understand people like her at all.  Why she was constantly thinking about so many things at once was a mystery to him.  How she did it was even more of a mystery.  He simply couldn't see that this is how she was intended to function.

Unfortunately this did mean that occasionally she would suffer from an extension overload, and then would freeze up or even crash, but on the whole she functioned very well, carrying out many jobs simultaneously. Smith, however, was frequently impatient with her inability to concentrate fully on the task at hand. Especially if that task involved pleasing him.  Why couldn't she just tune out the kids for a while? Was it too much to ask? He was sometimes heard to say that the M in her name stood for Muddle-headed and the I for Incompetent.

She for her part, didn't understand people like Smith.  Being hard wired the way she was meant that she was sometimes impatient with his inability to think about more than one thing at a time. It irritated her when she left him alone with their progeny and he failed to notice what they got up to, being totally engrossed in whatever he had chosen to do.  Why couldn't he just take his mind off the damn game for a few minutes; keep one ear open? She laughed with her friends that S stood for Stupid and the I for Inefficient.

It may appear to the casual observer that both of these types of people had design flaws but no, they were each well designed for their respective purposes. It just seems a shame that no one had thought to integrate understanding of the other's strengths and weaknesses into their intelligence banks so that misunderstandings would not arise so often.

The designer could have explained to interested parties that Smith's mental processes were somewhat akin to that marvel of natural engineering, the honeycomb. Every part of Smith's life was neatly compartmentalised, filed away under its own heading, and although there were obviously some fringe connections, nothing really affected anything else in a serious way.  So when he came home and Mariah asked him how his day had been, he had already switched programmes and had nothing to say on the subject.

Mariah's mind, on the other hand, more closely resembled that other bit of ingenious natural design, a spider's web. Each thread or strand was equally important, and all were closely intertwined to make a coherent whole.  What affected one part would affect the whole design, and that's just the way it was.  Nothing he could say would affect her inability to see things as he did. Which was why, when Smith became interested in a programme involving another Mariah, it was fairly predictable that Mariah 2750 was likely to be less than understanding. 

Smith had the two Mariahs neatly filed away under different headings. One under "Home" and one under "Outside Interests" and this worked fine for him. Neither impinged on the other, so he couldn't see why it should worry anyone else. 

Mariah 2750, however, could not be expected to see it that way.  Her life with Smith 3661 was a kind of mini-universe.  Everything involved everything else in some way, large or small. If one bit went out of kilter, eventually the whole thing would collapse.  Extensions would conflict big time in the background until her circuits just crashed and burned. And then, you can be sure,  Smith would pay in some way for his inability to see things her way.

Sooner or later, Smith was going to have to deal with this, but in the meantime all he could do was make darn sure that Mariah 2750 never discovered the new game he was playing.  He would have to make sure his files were securely locked at all times. 

And what of the other Mariah? She of course saw things as her type do. It was hard for her to be just a part of Smith's life. A game. His outside interest. But her involvement was total, She was committed to this game for good or ill.

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Mother Nature.


We speak of Mother Nature
but if nature is a mother
she’s remarkably uncaring.
What mother is so sparing
when it comes to being kind?

The world turns, lightening flashes
forests burn, thunder crashes,
sea floods the land,
vegetation and sand
and the creatures within
must flee for their lives or die.
Mother Nature is a lie.

The earth has no pity
yes, it can be pretty
but cruelty is rife -
from a human point of view.

Nature has no point of view
It simply gives us life.
Then live or die or getting by,
easy living or trouble and strife
a death that’s calm or gory -
that’s another story.


CS 2017


LBGTQ

Fan Dancer

Under the spotlight
she pirouettes
glistening
while the crowd forgets
listening
watching her perform

hypnotic rhythms
the pulsing beat
as music invades
the smoke-laden heat
her silken fans
like butterflies
swoop and flutter
before their eyes

applause! applause!
whistles and cheers
help to overcome
her fears

in the dressing room
she lowers a fan
looks in the mirror
sees the man

© July 2002





Mimi

Alone in the spotlight's glare
Mimi performs once more before
an anticipatory crowd.

Bejewelled, bewigged and corseted
dressed in sequins and feather boa
he stands and delivers the risqué jokes
mimes to the tracks of favourite songs
in the crippling nine inch heels he loves.

Another performance over
he smiles and waves to the cheering crowd
"my adoring public, my dear"
then whisks himself off to the dressing room
and home to the tiny top floor room
he likes to call his penthouse

where he sits and relives his performance
the cheers of the crowd, the longed-for applause
and sheds a few tears, but only a few,
over a take out meal for one
before going to bed alone.

© 2002


A Walk on the Wild Side?


Love that dared not speak its name
still dares not in many places
life becomes a guessing game
matching lifestyles to the faces
Will he, won't he, will he, won't he,
will he join the dance?
will he, won't he, will he, won't he,
won't he take a chance?

Walking on the wilder side
doesn't happen hereabouts
here the people have no Pride
here it's full of lager louts
Will they, won't they, will they, won't they
beat me up tonight?
Will they, won't they, will they, won't they
go for me on sight?

Bullied all those years at school
teachers taught the pupils how
all that crap machismo cool
nothing's any better now
Will I, won't I, will I, won't I
ever be myself?
Will I, won't I will I, won't I
wind up on the shelf?

Maybe I should leave this place
seek a living in the city
somewhere I can show my face
somewhere I can dress up pretty
Will I, won't I, will I, won't I
will I make the choice?
Do I, don't I, do I, don't I
don't I want a voice?




July 2002


Mano a Mano

two beautiful bronzed bodies
muscled yet slim
evidence clear
of time spent in the gym
toned and honed and
stripped
ready for action

looking each other up and down
smiling faces belie
the smouldering inner fire
then all attempts at decorum die
the time has come
to get down
to the business at hand.

© July 2002



Lady In Waiting

He hears the whispers, naturally.

"Do you think... No, Really?
Hmmm, she looks so...
well, you know"

Same scenario every day
"It's the Adams' apple gives it away."

True, but whaddya gonna do?
Smile the professional smile
"Yes ladies, what'll it be?"


Sept 2002



While We Wait

So many different backgrounds
rich or poor, black or white.
Different inclinations
straight or queer, left or right.

All that really separates
the good ones from the rest
is how we treat each other
that's the only valid test.

We all have fads and fancies
and lifestyles that seem strange
but when you think it over
it's ourselves we need to change.

To be more understanding
more accepting, more mature.
We all live in glass houses
and none of us is pure.

Live and let live - Oh I know
it's all been said before.
If only we could do it
there would be no need for war.

Everyone could try to make
a difference while we're here
by being more magnanimous
to people far and near.

Good will is contagious
but so is fear and hate.
The world may never change
but can't we try it while we wait?

Sept 2002



A Good Day

Today was a good day all in all
Nothing interfered with
the smooth running of my life
it ran uneventfully
like well precisioned cogs
in a really expensive watch
tick tick tick tick

The weather was pleasant too
neither too hot nor too cold
No wind hassled garbage
around the yard
no rain shed its tears
down my windows
no prima donna
impassioned rays
invaded my room
to dazzle and daze

No one called round
nobody phoned
to interrupt in any way
my unremarkable orderly day
It was all so very peaceful

God but it was boring.


Nov 2002


What I Wouldn't Do

Is there anything I‘d not do for you?
Well, I wouldn't break the law;
I wouldn't murder or steal or such
or break somebody's jaw.
I probably wouldn't lie for you,
I don't think I'd have the flair,
but anything legal or moral, hon,
call me and I'll be there!

© Feb.2003



First Contact


Eye to eye across a room
a fleeting, flirty, glance
then a longer, lingering, look,
a raw yet rhythmic dance.

Up and down, and round and round,
our gazes mix and mingle,
then sudden swift awareness
of that old familiar tingle.

I watch his lips, a subtle smile,
and instantly respond.
The body language says it all
as strangers seek to bond.


© 2004



Sting In the Tail

1 First Contact

Eye to eye across a room
a fleeting, flirty, glance
then a longer, lingering, look,
a raw yet rhythmic dance.

Up and down, and round and round,
our gazes mix and mingle,
then sudden swift awareness
of that old familiar tingle.

I watch his lips, a subtle smile,
and instantly respond.
The body language says it all
as strangers seek to bond.

2  Laying Foundations

Preliminaries over now
we down a drink or two
insinuating, subtle hints
of what we'd like to do.

His face is truly beautiful,
his body firm and hard.
His words bewitch as much as any
written by the bard.

We come to a decision but
back to his or mine?
Suspecting he has more than me
I modestly decline.

3 The Sting

We ride the elevator up
in his apartment block.
My heart is pounding harder
as his key turns in the lock

and then the door is open
and I see the stuff inside.
If he wasn't so desirable
I think I'd run and hide.

The horns of this dilemma were
the feelings and the sight.
But some things come with penalties
and he's worth every bite!

© 2004

Saturday 18 November 2017

Animals On My Mind.

 Leave Them Alone

Ivory is simply teeth
something elephants need
they’re used for many things you know:
to dig stuff up to feed,
to fight for mating rights as well
so that they can breed,
digging wells for water,
and so I humbly plead
just let elephants keep their tusks
they weren’t made for your greed.

Rhino horn is keratin,
the same as hair and nails
The thought that it’s a medicine
is simply old wives’ tales.
Any benefit derived
from that, though none is known,
could be got - and free of charge -
from munching on your own!

Tiger bones and body parts
aren’t medicine, at least
they’re no different from the bones
of any other beast.
Superstition tells you that
the tiger makes you strong.
Please, leave the tiger’s bones
and parts where they belong.

Stealing bile from bears is such
a dreadful thing to do.
it causes so much suffering
but not of course to you.
Don’t you know that you have bile?
Your body makes it’s own.
Doing things like this tells me
your heart is made of stone.

All these ancient myths we see
are leading to extinction
Please spread the message
and make clear this distinction:
Animals of every kind
are made like every other.
So think before you cause the death
or suffering of another.

CS 2017


Pity the Poor Pangolin.

Pangolins are beautiful, though you may not agree,
they wear a suit of armour, as you can plainly see.
Their tongues are long and sticky for catching what they eat:
insects, lots and lots of them, not vegetables or meat.

Their coats are made of keratin, like talons, nails or hair
they need them for protection, so predators beware!
But some misguided people seem to think they’re magic
They kill the poor things for their scales, it’s stupid and it’s tragic.

If you tried using nails or hair as medicine instead
those would heal you just as much. Really, use your head!
Instead of paying all that cash for something that is fake
Think about the animals whose lives the smugglers take.

A hundred thousand pangolins are captured every year
and now they face extinction. Can you not shed a tear?
The smugglers don’t care at all, they do it for the money
as gullible consumers pay and lap it up like honey.

CS 2017


Crying For the Dying

So many creatures used and abused
so many stupid reasons given for their deaths;
whales and dolphins, sharks and rays, turtles too and more,
end up as a meal after taking their last breaths.

Some though end up suffering, performing for their keep
stolen from their families and locked up for life -
restricted lives cut short just to entertain the masses,
and reports of unsuitable conditions are rife.

Some tiny creatures - seahorses and turtles -
are caught and imprisoned live in plastic keyring fobs.
what sort of person can think that this is ethical?
How poor do you have to be to do these kinds of jobs?

Baby seals slaughtered, brutally, cruelly,
apparently to save the fish - to have with chips and peas -
totally ignoring the reason for the low stocks
is man’s over fishing and pollution of the seas.

Don’t get me started with what is done to primates -
So many slaughtered to steal a single child
Many die in transit which makes it more distressing
Let the poor things live their lives out there in the wild.

Birds shot or captured to grace somebody’s living room -
honestly the list goes on, there really is no end
to wickedness visited on all our fellow creatures,
each one we could otherwise regard as a friend.

CS 2017



Get it Right!

Do you remember the dodo,
the bird that went extinct?
People ate the very last one.
Clever, don’t you think?
We’re supposed to be intelligent.
Out brains are bigger, albeit
what do we use this intelligence for?
Frankly I don’t see it. 

It’s like the man on the branch of a tree
whilst cutting it from the trunk;
we’re destroying all that lives and breathes
and replacing it with junk.
People, take a look at yourselves,
ask yourself: is it wise
to kill every creature and habitat
from forest to sea to skies?

The planet of course will renew itself
it’s done it so many times
but humans are digging a grave for themselves.
Is this the crime of crimes?
Whether or not you believe in a god
who is watching over all
it’s in our hands to get it right
or prepare ourselves for a fall.

CS 2017


Canned Hunts

Canned hunts:  barbaric,
cowardly, obscene;
hand reared animals
drugged, confined, and shot
by men with guns but no balls,
the young die when the mother falls
and the "hunter" ups and walks.
Animals without a choice
crying without a voice
but oh! how money talks.

© Jan 2003



The Colossal Squid

The colossal squid is a fearsome beast
with parrot's beak and enormous eyes.
It has arms so strong it strives with whales
and grows to an unbelievable size.

It's tentacles are armed with hooks,
swiveling claws that are razor sharp.
Once a legend, now a fact;
no more will listeners laugh or carp.

In Antarctic waters it has its home,
eating whatever swims its way;
it takes exceptional strength and size
to avoid becoming this creature's prey.

If you dream of a life on the Southern Seas
midst howling gales and cliffs of ice,
just think about the colossal squid
and stay away, is my advice.

CS
©2006



Bug Poo I and II


1
Ants on a fig tree
farming bugs.

Diligent, they watch for
the moment of emergence,

greedily relishing
bug poo, honeydew.


II

Dust mites, invisible,
skin scales their bread;
irritate intensely
pooing in your bed.

CS
© 2007


Mostly Fish

Why are dolphins drawn to us?
Hmm, let me think...

A creature of high intelligence
with mostly fish for company...

Yep. That would do it.

© 2005


On Dogs

If I should ever have a dog
give me a quintessential dog,
a dog that doesn't yip or yap
or trip me up or snip and snap.

An honest dog who shows respect
not fawning, but with head erect;
submissive and obedient, yes,
but proud of bearing nonetheless.

A dog of stature, large and strong
who knows that she and I belong
to times more primitive than these
when shelter was in caves and trees.

A dog much like her ancestor
with wolf-like cast and character,
a dog with whom I can commune
and howl beneath the moon.


© 2004


Perfidy

Daughters plot behind their father's back, sister slays sister and steals her lover, and a family are torn asunder - not Shakespeare but everyday stories from the world's largest wolf pack living in Yellowstone National Park.



The dark queen was beautiful but merciless and violent,
her first love was shot but she soon was re-allied.
Now she is dead and her new lover heartlessly
rules in her stead with her sister by his side.

It's a story of infamy, unscrupulous conspiracy,
of backbiting treachery and family intrigue;
where sister slays sister and takes on her family
and worse yet, the dead sister's lover was in league.

His headship is challenged, he fights off his enemy.
Now, it would seem, his position is secure
but a stranger appears and attracts the leader's daughters;
he's big and he's handsome, his intentions far from pure.

Caught in flagrante, the daughters go back home again
the stranger then vanishes, for a while at least
but always his presence is there in the memory
like a nasty smell, or the spectre at the feast.

One day he's back there, seeking to consolidate.
The daughters are tempted and go with him once more
along with some others, deserters from the family;
they form a rival faction. This could lead to war.

This isn't history, nor is it Shakespearian;
it happens quite frequently, it could be last week.
A family is torn apart, mercilessly severed,
in a Yellowstone wolf pack, up at Druid Peak.

CS © 2004



 Fox

The fox is often hunted
which leaves some folk affronted.
The handsome inspiration
for so much altercation,
is either loved or hated,
its nature much debated.
Often it is thought to be
just out on a killing spree,
indiscriminate in its slaughter
slaying far more than it oughta.
No, my friend, not so.

It's rep has been corrupted;
if not interrupted
it buries all it slays,
a store for leaner days.
We fail to understand
it has its future planned;
with little ones to raise and feed
such behaviour isn't greed.
Necessity drives every creature,
avarice is a human feature
as our waistlines show.

CS
© 2003



A Basic Need

No matter who or what we are
we all need someone to love
It's a basic need like food or drink
like the air we breathe
or the thoughts we think
all of us long to belong to another
it's what life's all about

A lioness adopting a calf
or a monkey adopting a puppy
cats with rats or rabbits with dogs
donkeys with goats or sheep or hogs
they all have a craving
for close encounters
of this there is no doubt. 

No matter what or who we are
we all need someone to love
someone to share a warm embrace
to acknowledge the look upon one's face
whether furred or feathered
it's fundamental
the solitary life is out.

CS
08/ 2002




Philosophical Ramblings.

Does the butterfly know courage
when first it leaves the cocoon?
Having left it's earthbound pedestrian life
of eating, eating, and yet more eating
to hibernate for many days
on the underside of a leaf
to break down into genetic soup
it now has to start all over again
struggle free, out into the light
stretch its wings and soar on high.
How brave is the butterfly?

Does the lioness know courage
when she faces the male who comes along
and wants to mate and sees her young as
a threat to his own genetic line;
when she drives him away with tooth and claw
to defend her young ones sired elsewhere
does she stop to think "Oh, this is scary"
or just act purely on instinct?
What courage she shows in human terms
but a mother's desire to defend her young
is pretty instinctive under duress.
How brave is the lioness?

A baby bird has to leave the nest
learn to fly and fend for itself
and we put it down to instinct
but is it afraid of the cat and the owl
the predators all around?
Does it have to pluck up courage
to launch itself off that bough?
To struggle at length with its very first worm
which must be a little daunting
and we call it nature, take it for granted
that's just what creatures do.
Is talk of courage absurd?
How brave is the little bird?

I ask because I'm human,
and humans like to know.
We want to know what makes us tick
why we do the things we do
or why we sometimes don't.
Is courage merely an instinct
born of the need to survive?
or is it something we can control
by an act of will, determination?
We like to think we're so brave
ripping our fears assunder
but are we really? I wonder.

CS  © July2002





The Rat


Of all the things that I could praise
this, this the most heroic:
the noble rat, oft much maligned,
is, of all beasts, most stoic

survivor of millennia
despite man's cunning ruses
rats will always be around
and have so many uses!

so many creatures feed on them
the owl and fox and cat
and yet they thrive despite it all
and multiply at that!

Oh noble rat, I sing your praise
Oh oft disparaged rodent
it seems when asked to soldier on
you didn't know what "no" meant

when tamed and kept within a cage
or used for awful testing
we do not then despise your kind
but find you quite arresting

a friendly and most loyal pet
intelligent and and clever
you survive where other creatures
cease from their endeavour

so, noble rat, my work is done.
Although your name is blighted
I for one think well of you
indeed, you should be knighted!

© July 2002

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Political Ponderings

Look Up

You fly in your jet plane, you sail in your yacht,
but others have paid for the things that you’ve got -
your mansion, your penthouse, your country estate
were built with the blood of the people you hate.

Look up from your table, look up from your plate,
changes are coming and changes won’t wait.
You think we are stupid, you think we don’t see
the way you despise all the people like me.

You think you’re so clever, you think you’re so grand,
you think we don’t notice the whip in your hand.
You try to control us with guns and with tanks,
with tear gas and tasers but mostly with banks.

Look up from your riches, look up from your wealth,
we’re sick of the way that you ruin our health
by keeping us hungry and homeless and poor.
You think that we’re stupid but don’t be too sure.

Changes must happen, the worm it must turn,
the people in power must finally learn
the masses won’t simply roll over and die,
we’ve seen through the fiction, we’ve seen through the lie.

Look up from your scheming, look up from your ploys,
we’re no longer willing to live as your toys,
Changes must happen, we’ve waited too long,
anger is spreading and anger is strong.

© CS 2016



Privileged

The privileged will never understand.
They’ve never been in dire need;
never had to stand in line,
never been abused because of
race, religion, gender.
The privileged will never understand.

The privileged will never understand.
They know the world belongs to them;
they won’t go hungry to their beds,
or wonder where they’ll sleep tonight
unless it’s just to choose which home,
the city one, the country one, or
maybe one abroad.

The privileged can smile,
can look down on the “others”
with a laugh, a joke, a snide remark.
They’ll never understand.
They’ll never know despair.
Their worries are a million miles
away from those that most of us
are prone to day by day.

No, the privileged will never understand.
But still there’s something we can have
that maybe they don’t know about:
a thankful heart, a helping hand,
the love that can’t be bought.
These are things the privileged
may never understand.


© CS 2016

A Turn To The Right

I’m watching the world take a turn to the right
and I sit here wondering why.
When I think of what the right can be
it makes me want to cry.
Very few people alive today
can remember World War Two:
the horrors of right wing politics,
what this shift to the right can do.

I watched as America voted for Trump,
that arrogant bloated greedy lump.
I see how France now flirts with Le Pen,
so will they flirt with Nazis again?
And here in Britain people want May
which worries me more than I can say.

Right wing politics play on fear
but fear leads to anger and hate.
Fear of poverty, fear of “them”,
I suppose are something innate.
But what it becomes can be horrible.
Couldn’t we overcome?
Be better than that? Be kind? Be loving?
Stop the me first pushing and shoving?
Or are we all too dumb?

© CS 2017



Right or Wrong?

The future isn’t looking bright:
as countries increasingly turn to the right.
War and hunger lead to migration;
people fear for their population.
Immigration is seen as a curse;
global warming will make it worse.
Voices calling for understanding
are drowned by fearful ones demanding
walls and barriers, “Keep them out!”
worried folk increasingly shout.
“Arm yourself for the conflicts to come!”
It might sound cruel, it might sound dumb
but many don’t see beyond their fears
and sadly it will end in tears.

CS 2017


Dangerous

What kind of a man lacks charm and grace
as he struts around with a sulky face;
a popinjay with a petulant air,
an orange face and ridiculous hair;
whose diatribes lack wisdom or wit,
whose lies prove him a hypocrite?
whose every utterance proves his lack
of intelligence? Just yack yack yack.
And yet this man has many fans:
those of his ilk who like his plans
without ever seeing where it could lead.
This man is dangerous indeed.

CS
October 2016


The Orange Man

I do not like the orange man
I don’t know how a person can.
I do not like the way he lies,
I do not like what he implies.
I do not like his silly hair,
his  vulgar, disrespectful air.
I do not like his “me me me”,
I do not like his history.
I do not like his stupid talk,
I do not like his pompous walk,
I do not like his lack of sense
or how he gives so much offence.
There’s not one thing of him I like.
I think that he should take a hike.

 CS


Man of Straw

A man of no substance,
a man of straw,
is put in charge of
the country, the law.
But life isn't simply
a panel game show
and it's anyone's guess
how things will go.

9/11/16


People

If people were just people
how great the world could be
If there was no more “them and us”
but only “you and me”
no labels,
no boxes
no pigeonholes
no hate,
no clichés
no stereotypes
no politics
no state.
If people were just people
with no more condemnation
how wonderful the world could be;
just peace and integration.

© CS 2016

Evil

Evil has a human face,
it has a human heart,
one devoid of compassion,
cold in every part.

It makes the mind it inhabits
completely deaf and blind
to the suffering of others,
refusing to be kind.

No need to look for horns and tail
no need for cloven hooves;
evil is what humans do
as watching some folk proves.

No other species acts this way,
they follow natural law.
So can we say humanity
is evil to the core?

No indeed, for many
show kindness every day.
Is it that evil people
have simply lost their way?

A sick mind can lead astray
and lead to evil deeds
but we may modify the thoughts
on which the sickness feeds.

No, evil doesn’t just happen;
it’s a choice that people make
and starts with that first decision
that ego decides to take.

Slowly, but deliberately,
they follow a downward turn,
descending into darkness
from which there’s no return.

© CS 2016


Points of View

Once a person has made up their mind,
established their point of view,
the door is shut, the boat has sailed,
there’s nothing that you can do.

Beliefs are essential to who we are
and change is exceedingly slow;
like a drowning man in a sea of change
we cling to what we know.

Our minds aren’t like a series of files
with elements easily changed;
they’re more of a network, each thought intertwined,
not easily rearranged.

To give up our core beliefs is hard,
but that’s what we seem to expect
when we ask folk to look at the way think
or tell them they’re incorrect.

No matter how good the intention
it’s a waste of time and breath
to try to change any mind made up;
they’ll argue the toss to the death!

© CS 2016


Politicians

They primp and preen and posture,
smile their smiles and lie,
convincing the people to vote for them.
Well, anyway they try.

But are we taken in by them?
Do we believe their claims?
Some clearly do, while others
are sickened by their games.

Who can we afford to trust?
Very few it seems.
Millionaires don’t care about us,
not in their wildest dreams.

Who will win, come election day
and wear the victor’s crown?
The tide of opprobrium escalates
as we watch integrity drown.

© CS 2016


 Strength

Two clenched fists don’t make you strong.
Weapons don’t make you a man.
Shouting and pointing have shown how weak
folks are, since time began.

For strength lies in patience, humility,
the support you give to another:
the women, the children, the dissposessed,
the homeless, the single mother.

Crushing people is not respect,
Insulting them isn’t smart.
Strength is shown in giving hope
and comes from a grateful heart.

© Oct 2016

The Capitalist
Sung to the tune of The Sewing Machine.

Oh, the capitalist, the capitalist, his own best friend.
If we didn’t have the capitalist this way of life would end.
For the money the money a dollar a buck
they say it trickles down
but as far as anyone here can see
it just goes round and round.

CS


The Privileged Few.

They sit in their decadent ivory towers
ignoring humanity's woes;
preened from the tops of their coiffured heads
to the tips of their pedicured toes.
Most care nothing for you or I.
Just imagine what they could do!
There's plenty of money to go around
but it's owned by the privileged few.

CS

They Tried

Yesterday they tried,

tried to bring terror to our shores 

and, briefly, they achieved it.

Today the flag flies at half mast

to honour those who died but

life goes on, as usual.
We will not arm ourselves with guns

 we will not hide behind a wall

we will not hate the foreigner

or walk in fear of strangers.
We manifest that wartime spirit,

demonstrated in the Blitz,

for that's how we behave.

Britons, as the anthem says,

never shall be slaves.

CS 23/03/17



Travesty

 There’s a lesson to be learned from
the emerging butterfly;
the struggle to escape
from its hard encasing shell
give form and definition to
the wings that will enable it
to fly.

Well meaning but mistaken hands
attempt to help the creature;
its wings do not develop.
Crippled, it will never fly,
a travesty of a butterfly.

So too the baby chick must fight
to work its way into the light
becoming strong and worthy
of the life tit has to lead.

When parents who have prospered
by the work of their own hands
decide to make it easy for
their offspring to succeed
they too create a travesty
which lacks a strength of purpose,
who has no understanding of
what life is all about.

CS 2017

Truth


It's a tricky thing, the truth.
We sometimes avoid it, step aside,
withdraw, becoming guarded.

At other times we launch an attack,
lunge and parry, feint and riposte.

We dance around it, disengage,
use rapier wit, deception.

But often, in a wider sense,
truth is what we choose to believe,
a variable, our raison d'etre.

One man's truth is another's myth
but he'll fight to the death to defend it.


Words

Sometimes people seem so blind,
they look but do not see.
Other folk appear unkind,
or so it seems to me.

They see a thing and just react,
they do not stop to think,
then words pour out, devoid of tact,
as quick as they can blink.

Hasty words, malicious words,
like bullets from a gun
or like a flock of pecking birds;
they stupefy and stun.

Don’t these people realise
the harm that words can do?
Do they never empathise
or see another’s view?

Some, I know, act wilfully
intending to distress,
wielding words most skilfully
to agitate and stress.

However, most are not like that,
just thoughtless and unwise.
Perhaps they need to pause a while
and open up their eyes.

© CS 2016


Rights

Letters, marches, demonstrations,
voices raised in protest,
“Give us our rights,” they say,
“I want” …  this  … or that
“I want”
“I”

But what of those who have no voice:
the animals, the unborn or the old?
They must suffer silently
give up their rights
and die.

Can we excuse the inexcusable?
Selfishness almost beyond belief.
Your rights or mine?
The hunter or the hunted?
The mother or the unborn child?
The feeble aged parent or
the relatives who have no time?

This is how the world will be destroyed;
life wiped out by “me” and “mine”.

CS 1990