Caught On CCTV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
This poem was written in 2006. It first appeared in an American poetry magazine and subsequently in my collection. It has been requested today by ‘Marian and Peter’ with whose wry comment to the effect that ‘nothing changes much, does it?’ I can but agree. Even so, it is down to each and every one of us to effect some change for the better and let the ripples spread...
CAUGHT ON CCTV
Men and women, every shape, size, colour,
on the street…
crowding each other, elbowing a passage,
nobody apologising
Man in a suit, pocket picked by a kid about
fourteen…
Woman in a short skirt, fumbled by a guy
getting married soon
Children wanting this and that, parents look
scared to say, ‘No!’
Cop on the beat, deciding… no pay packet
worth this hassle?
Dark faces and lighter stuck in poems about
racism…
Light fingers and darker rewriting bylaws
for drug free zones
Child runs in front of a car, tyres screaming,
people crying blue murder…
Driver doesn’t even stop, a few folks rushing
to help, more hurrying on
People - all shapes, sizes, colours, lips moving
on deaf-blind streets
Copyright R. N. Taber 2007
[First published in Accomplices to Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007.]
This poem was written in 2006. It first appeared in an American poetry magazine and subsequently in my collection. It has been requested today by ‘Marian and Peter’ with whose wry comment to the effect that ‘nothing changes much, does it?’ I can but agree. Even so, it is down to each and every one of us to effect some change for the better and let the ripples spread...
CAUGHT ON CCTV
Men and women, every shape, size, colour,
on the street…
crowding each other, elbowing a passage,
nobody apologising
Man in a suit, pocket picked by a kid about
fourteen…
Woman in a short skirt, fumbled by a guy
getting married soon
Children wanting this and that, parents look
scared to say, ‘No!’
Cop on the beat, deciding… no pay packet
worth this hassle?
Dark faces and lighter stuck in poems about
racism…
Light fingers and darker rewriting bylaws
for drug free zones
Child runs in front of a car, tyres screaming,
people crying blue murder…
Driver doesn’t even stop, a few folks rushing
to help, more hurrying on
People - all shapes, sizes, colours, lips moving
on deaf-blind streets
Copyright R. N. Taber 2007
[First published in Accomplices to Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007.]
Labels: abuse, adults, children, drugs, human behaviour, human nature, life, manners, mind-body-spirit, parents, poetry, prejudice, relationships, society, street crime, thieves, young people
posted by R. N. Taber | 08:48
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