Safety Through Self Doubt

It is better to be confused
about male sexuality,
than it is to be consumed
by it's potential for toxicity,
which by the time it is done
will leave the typical man
not knowing who he was
or who he was meant to be 
amid the chaos that panned out
from his unplanned lack of planning.
  

The 'R' Rate

 Is presently short for 'the reproduction rate'.

It is a term applied to the Covid virus,
though other viruses might like their own census.

But I would like 'The R rate' to refer
to how racist different countries are,
with defined units of measurement
based on what one country's citizens
 would do to another, hinted at,
but never asked directly,
in the name of schadenfraude
on behalf of their own country.

Surprise surprise, the research has been done
with the unit measurement provided by
proposals tabled or passed by the United Nations,
and forty page report (that's short!) produced about it.
Here it is for you to mark, read, and inwardly digest,
indigestible as any proper account of racism should be.    

Stuck In The Middle With Myself

When we lose the narrative thread
for losing the sense of purpose
to what we thought we were doing
-such as seems common
with life amid a pandemic-
then our only way through
is to look back to where we began
to rediscover where it took us,
in the middle, for us to imagine
how life might 'go forward' again. 

Happy Easter Ukrainian Style

Or happy whatever else you would like to name this date
as it is celebrated around a world that is vibrantly rich
in variety and experience.

 

Collective Absurdities

My church closed for lent;
it had to rest from the sinners
who went to refuse to repent.

They stopped giving their money
whilst showing off to each other
over tea, after every service.

I was more engaged with personal change
I felt apart when we said the liturgy.
I sang the hymns like everyone else
but with my voice like a corncrake
my silence, or even better absence,
would have made other folk safer.

I was just too bad at showing off,
I missed the friendliness of the vicar, 
who when he was not wearing his surplice,
in just his God-collar, was rather nice.

As I observed the absurdity
of other people's behaviour
I saw that accepting myself
as being different to others
was as near to salvation
as I was likely to get.

Truth And Relativity

How fast time goes for us will vary.

If we are the ones to tell more lies,
and procrastinate to disguise
the lies we told before,
then time flies for us-it must
if we are to prevaricate our way
past accusations of prevarication.

But if we the people being lied to
and we know it, but we can't see the lies
for what they are, among the truths,
then time slows as we live out being set up
to be a genuine audience for continued falseness.

Picture Set Of The Month - April - Easter Special

Apocalypse Chapel by Ernst Fuchs.

This fully decorated underground chamber

is an immersive experience

that leaves the viewer not knowing where to look

All the above pictures are from here.