This poem came out of one those times when I just needed to be able to give voice to all that we ignore and pretend is not there to remain somewhat sane and functioning in this life diminishing civilisation of modernity. It seems important to admit that there are days when it seems like nothing will or can change to put us on a path of healing, regeneration and creation of life-affirming societal structures. I am grateful too for the moments of wonder that then remind me that other ways are possible and are bubbling away in the shadows out of sight of modernity’s glare.
3am despair
There is so much left unsaid
in any society
The things that fall beyond the realm
deemed permissible, polite and pertinent.
In this era of snapchat and twittering across oceans
Where opinions are hurled into quasi-public spaces
and a decisive dance of fingers across the screen
can cancel a person’s worth.
Even in the midst of this noise
So much is left unsaid
So much more is deliberately silenced
and so many more do not have the access
to even enter into these discussions.
While the techno-citizen pretends
The world wide web is omniscient, ubiquitous and wonderful.
Where in all of this are the spaces to
truly say how we feel?
Where are the people with time to really listen?
In real life, there is so much left unsaid as well
What of the man sleeping rough on a main road near me
in front of a vacant office building
with billboards advertising new housing developments.
What of the Indigenous man
surrounded by half a dozen police
and arrested simply for being drunk in the city centre
While a street away pubs and clubs
do a roaring trade off getting people drunk
without fear of arrest.
What of 800 year old trees, beings older than this country
and of cultural significance to the First Peoples,
being cut down to save motorists
a mere two minutes drive time.
What of 45, 000 years of Indigenous history-
Human history –
being blown up by a mining company
with no repercussions.
What of all the inequalities of this world
Where those with money matter more
Where men matter more
Where white lives matter more.
There is so much left unsaid
But even what is voiced
Even what is shouted on the street en masse
seems to be swept aside.
So I find myself wondering
what is the point?
This world of ours is fucked
and saying so,
well does it matter?
Of This Earth 