There are No Words on a Dead Planet
Be yourself. Be one of many.
Shout with the only weapon you have.
Be nicely raging. Be credible.
Be insistent. Be alive. Be floppy
in their arms (it hurts less.) Be equal
to it. Be on TV. This revolution’s
in 5G. Be there for your kids. Block
roads, planes, boats, banks.
Be carried to a van in a cage of hands.
The custody man may let you read
if there’s nothing in your book
there shouldn’t be. Be nice.
It’s a long night with the light on
and no belt for your waist. Be clear.
Be there for the police who can’t be;
for your stepdad who never said
anything useful, ever. Be precise.
Be the obvious. The guy next-door
in his addiction, shouts for the huge
carbon footprint of his next fix.
Like a lot of us, really. Be there
for kittens; be there for tigers,
for stinging nettles, wasps, roses;
for bees and beetles and flying ants;
for elephants; long grasses.
Be kind when the guy next-door bangs
on the door to be let out.
Be crammed-in. Be smiling. Be happy
when they free you. Be happy
to return. Be out there. Be courageous.
Re-set. Go again. We have the bandwidth… shout!
Ken Evans published his first collection, called True Forensics , last October, and a pamphlet called The Opposite of Defeat in 2016. He has won the Kent & Sussex Competition 2018, Battered Moons and the Leeds Peace Prize.