For The Thrifty

their greatest hope lies
in the promises of the wealth
that never arrives anywhere near
where it could be theirs for the taking.

Against The Grain

In spite of all I see about me
I am going to be contrary
by loving of my enemy,
at least as much as I can. 

Authority vs Authenticity

In one of them we are ourselves
as we want to be, for good and ill,
not that we expect ill to become us.

In the other we put on stale airs
to disguise how we lack control
and claim power over others
when we should let then be themselves. 

My Second New Year Card Of 2020

I have no idea what is going on here,
but it looks like they overdid the idea of discretion. 

The Buoyant Voter

In forty years of being available to vote
I have rarely voted for the candidate
who was to be first past the post
in the ten general elections I could vote in.

My convictions about who to vote for
always left me among the minority
who can't identify with those in power.

I don't mind that, indeed I can't
since it means I have spent my time
supporting candidates and parties
who could well win in the future.  

My First New year Card Of 2020

'We never chose this; The journey to safety is hard.
We were lied to, Europe does not want refugees.
We thought we would arrive to safety but Europe
makes us struggle more against being sent back
into the old dangers, now increased'.
'Hoping to Survive' Razieh Gholami, 2019.
  

'It' Will Soon Be Over

Christmas is that time
when, egged on by commerce,
we drown each other in cliches
become anxious about happiness
as if anxiety could make us happy,
and at the end of it relearn to breath
that collective sigh of relief,
that it is all over-until next year.