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Poetry Magnum Opus

a flash of insight, rv


dedalus

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It was never a problem,

or at least I didn’t think so.

If airplanes disappeared over the Amazon

I made no connection, not really,

with butterflies in Central Asia

or the number of black taxis

on the Kensington Road.

 

Well, that was then, before

they put me into this place,

with its white-tiled walls,

its bustle, its echoing noises.

OK, I said several strange things

and alarmed a few people, but …

but I understood. And they didn’t.

 

Nobody likes that. They don't.

You can murder people, you can

cheat and steal, have sex with minors,

and they’ll clap you in jail, not an asylum,

for these, you see, are rational crimes

and do not shake the foundations

of the way the world is seen.

 

But all of a sudden I COULD see

how every damn thing was connected

and made the crucial mistake

of telling other people. Unease

became the disease of condemnation,

and so they slowly then quickly shut me away,

to this place from which I write today.

 

It’s hard to bear. It’s an abomination!

After all, nobody threatened Albert Einstein

although the Pope had a go at Galileo,

and in the open airio (sorry?) the major crime

is to say what people don’t want to hear,

not about things such as space and time

but airplanes, butterflies, and black taxis.

Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim

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Black taxis? I thought it was the silent black helicopters....

 

Seriously though, I love the "revealing without really stating" (until later, kinda hidden) where this person now is. I like the statement this poem makes through its historical references. And I like the condemnation this poem makes.....But tell me of these taxis.

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Black taxis, right you are! Back in the Troubles in Norn Iron the black taxis would only go to certain areas, depending on the religion (and reputation) of the driver and passengers. Getting shot was part of the job description back then. Not cool. Dangerous. Almost over ... the bombs and guns ... but not a settled peace, I'd have to say. The Loyalists hate losing their power base and react like cornered rats.

Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim

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Karma..Oh to be in England.... a politician, banker, T/V star or any kind of hypocrite.. “you can

cheat and steal, have sex with minors,” ... the rest can democratically say anything they like.. and it doesn't change a f*****g thing..

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  • 1 month later...
David W. Parsley

Another unusual perspective fully fleshed into a credible narrative, Brendan. Interesting connections!

 

Thanks,

- Dave

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