being ordinary

being ordinary


it’s on good authority that each one is unique, plainly,

like every other one; a mono, but not like every other one,

who says that’s the case, in every way, but not really?


it’s a muddle to stay in the middle, visible, but not seen;

lookers lurk to catch off guard, careful ones blending, hiding,

in conformity, not being spied whilst spying, just being ordinary.

wretched in the time of faceless clocks

wretched in the time of faceless clocks


the names of the wretched are legion but nicety says

we must say: refugee, dispossessed, fleeing persecution

and a host of linguistic blinds to mask the brutal reality

of homelessness by any nicer names we can invent.


the word homeless won’t do because polite society can’t

absorb the blame for the gross inequality and carelessness

that created it while publicly condemning and harshly

punishing wretches who have spiralled into its depths.


the time of faceless clocks began its nascency long ago

when domination began its evil ascent into human affairs.

and now we, all wretches to be, watch and wait as shreds

of hope evaporate and render us future-dream deprived.


we will stop looking forward when no dreams come.

we will stop caring. it will be a time of me and only mine.

we’ll guard what’s ours and kill anyone who tries to take it.

it is near, closer than a wretched refugee’s heartbeat.