Words Waiting for Music - Two 2002

drove home through a Christmas card this morning
thought of places far from here where the sun shines hot on dust
where people are still just people and the sky is still just the sky
where normality comes complete with stronger hues of fear, anger and distrust

the papers told of a plan to blow away our local lethargy
of a cold, polite and educated hate that would have left us hot and bleeding
as the ice wet fog rolled up from the river
sparkling, wonderfilling sun kissed snowy solidly familiar
this white european landscape felt its first fear tremour

the radio relayed a Whitehall statement "Al Qaeda likely to attack UK"
senior sources stress "not inevitable" but "likely"
disbelief does not take the threat away
not understanding does not stop it being this way
war is happening, whether or not we agree
while we still bask and play, luxuriate in naivety

an aeroplane lands its load of Santa's shoppers
back to earth from the never never cities in the sky
while our police are donning guns and starting to make colleagues
of hardened hearted strangers on loan from SO13 and MI5

we make and spend our money in this annual pagan frenzy
cultures snowballing together in festivity and weather
curled up securely in the shelter of our families
this year, before we might have seen it on TV
our innocence would have been all over
it could still be


19th December 2002

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Email: alisonhutton@msn.com