A chimerical pursuit
Captivated by a hidden truth
Or a toy made more attractive
Sealed inside a Lucky Bag
A promise held within
Or promise long withheld
In politics – what is the difference?
Behind the scenes and screens
Logarithms write the manifesto
All desires are manifest
Before you have expressed them
Another form of salesmanship –
Amid the sticky sweets and gums
Sherbet dabs and drops of aniseed
There may be something toxic made of plastic
Or thin battered tin with a pin
World religions barter with the same
‘Man-he-fester’ manifesto –
All are born in debt
By nature of their nature
But is a moulded plastic artefact
Infallibly super-natural?
Lucky Bags need shaking
Still you will not guess what is within –
Something not to place in mouths of children
For fear they swallow it
.
Bernard Saint
Illustration: Claire Palmer
.