Any Side Of Life

That answers back, replies to our questions
about itself is the brighter side of life.
It is when we ask and get no answer back
for our enquiry that we have to test
what it means to live in a darkness,
the depth of which we have to measure.

The Limits Of Modern Charity

Every time I go into my nearest town
I see The Big Issue being sold. When
I see the sellers I give them a pound
in return for which they cheerfully ask
after my welfare. The last time I gave
I looked at the coin and looked at the lady.
I recalled the sobriquet by which the coin
was known-'a Margaret Thatcher'-the size,
hardiness and metallic nature of the coin
and the person were comparable. I answered
her enquiry and felt mortified by the memory
she raised as I offered her the coin. Is money,
however much it is shared and whatever we give
or have, always so inherently mean as to keep those
that have the least on the lowest possible social rung?

Is This Heaven or Unemployment?

Either way making your exit from it can prove
 more difficult than you will be told it should be.