Wild Confusion

 

The wild confusion of your hair causes you consternation 

Like wiry twists of fencing wire your frustration

sticks out; there is no hiding it

And you so hate the curled morass

that does not conform to your middle class

expectations; there is no abiding it

So you tie it back tight against your neck

Your earrings bright where they bedeck

your creamy lobes; preferring to tame it.

Your desire for linear strands frustrated

nonetheless leaves your wishing unabated

I ask what would help your follicle control

You say to reclaim it.

MDC 2016

When Aliens Arrive

When aliens arrive will their insurance 

cover any damage they do to our planet? 

How are we going to handle delaying tactics 

from a non-domestic insurance company based 

in another legal jurisdiction? 

Will they have the correct currency to cover the

cost of refueling? 

What about provisions for the return trip to their 

home planet? 

Will they pay for those too or expect charity? 

Will they swagger in like pirates expecting their 

demands to be met or will they knock on the 

door begging for assistance?

Will they have bothered to learn our language 

or be like the British and just presume that 

we will learn theirs?

Is there going to be any planning for adequate 

parking space prior to their arrival? And what 

about medical checkups, quarantine periods, 

drug testing and cavity searches? 

Who's footing the bill for all this? 

Then there are the more serious questions:

Will they turn up unannounced at an inconvenient

time, like in-laws, expecting us to drop what we're

doing and play the role of congenial hosts? Is

there going to be a dress code for when we meet?

Are they going to gossip behind our backs about

our dress sense, table manners, children's

behavior or political views?What do we do if they

think pink and green go together? Will they

understand that watching the nightly soapie 

is mandatory? Do they talk only during the ads

or insist on conducting conversation during

the broadcast?

And the most serious question of all:

Do they like football?

MDC 23/10/2020

Here I Lie

Here I lie, in this cold earth

Lying still, if not at peace

The quiet wraps my soul with firm hand

my body rendered to its eternal berth

The worms, they wriggle and they seep

through earthen wall and wooden band

My molecules and minerals reduced and powdered

To soften the bed upon which you will rest

Time will pass with its job done

I lie here - alone, uncrowded

Offering my softened breast

To pillow you when your time has come

MDC October 2020