Have you ever owned the fleur-de-lis of snowflakes
and watched the streets turn pure for an evening till
homeless man left his henna print by Selfridges?
Have you ever seen rush hour at Old Trafford mosque
and travelled to Gaza via Palestinian olives? They
went out of date a week ago and nobody died there?
Have you ever slept on a corporate knuckle duster
like the one outside Selfridges to keep dreams at bay?
A moved on man moved his nameless day to Costa,
to wash away the spices of kindness from strangers
who all wore black and looked like terrorists
and tore their pittas like sale receipts at Selfridges.
Antony Owen
Beautiful language used here to get the point across. The questions are effective by speaking directly to the reader/a culprit beyond the page; criticism is implied, but not explicitly preached and instead shown by offering up situations. Love the creative imagery, and how consistent it is across the poem. Important poem, tackling an important issue.
Comment by R. Boylan on 25 August, 2018 at 9:52 am