Poems : 2
Barriers
Poison pen is not excused
The duty that was keen.
Writing that is a necessity.
Writing that is graffiti.
The sword will be less mighty
Whenthe barriers are down.
Footsteps on the threshold
Upset thinkers' thoughts.
Thinking that is clever.
Thinking that forever.
Judgement is commanding
Underneath the crown.
The faces in the cities
Wear a worried frown
For the lighter Gents and ladies
When the barriers are down.
Copyright (c) 2010 Arthur J.P. Strand
Refrigerator and Freezer.
The larder contains nostalgia,
Canned foods, packets and jars,
Bread bin, spice rack and herbs,
Vegetables, pasta and candy bars.
Time itself imploded.
Tripping over an obstacle
I discovered time had flown
Slipping away in retrospect
In the fashion of a taut
Pair of braces attached
Unintentionally to a door
Handle and in the brightly lit
Tunnel of the corridor, as
Memory recall button is pressed
Then either, I recoil in reverse
Or the elastic painfully returns,
Carrying such information
As was previously computed
And to remind myself who to
Rebuke sharply, eventually,
For such a rude awakening.
The latest unheralded event
Was something no-one could prevent
Like a plague or swarm
Earthquake or storm
War or disaster,
Faster and faster,
Time itself imploded
Its outer crcust collapsed
Inwards, circuits overloaded:
Vacuum's substance had elapsed.
Previously published in Poetry Now 1995.
Sparsely Populated Regions.
Mountains and deserts, harsh terrain,
Crossed by caravans and legions,
Oceans and jungles, torrents of rain,
Remain sparsley populated regions.
Scrapbook.
A receipt for the purchase of a racing bicycle
On opening the frontispiece, greets the eye.
A guest-house business card and more receipts
Complete page one.
A receipt for the purchase of two pairs of drumsticks
From a Wiesbaden music-store
Follows the ticket for a rail-sea journey
From England to Gremany return, some years before.
A receipt forthe purchase of a pair of shoes
In Kaufhof, Darmstadt, I'd say
And an order for sausages in Stuttgart
Running an errand to the butcher's shop one day.
An address of a place where we used to stop
Some receipts from England and Wales
Adorn the following pages.
Then some pictures of me and my bass
In Kitzingen at an earlier stage.
That is all, apart from old contracts
Which were worthless but showed us the map
For memoirs more important are separated
Too good for a book described as scrap.
"Scrapbook" to be published in an anthology by Forward Press in a special softback edition titled : "A Voice in the Silence" which will be launched on January 31st 2012.
Copyright. Arthur J.P. Strand. (c) 2010
