The Poetry Of.
John Shaw..................................................
The Only Cocktail Bar On Mars
In the only cocktail bar on Mars
we raised a glass to planet earth,
not as it is, a burned out shell,
but as it was, a Sunday child,
turned out in all its shining best,
with parks and gardens, grass and fields,
and all that stuff we used to have.
And someone said, 'before I die,
I'd love to see a tree, alive.'
We drank a toast,
and no-one spoke,
for fear grown men should cry.
If This Should Be
If this should be your last day on earth,
at least it is a good one.
The sun is dusting on its pinkest blusher.
At the bottom of the garden,
overgrown by ivy and white convolvulus,
your silver rocket is fizzing to be gone.
What If A Man
– for William Blake, 18th Century poet
What if a man were stripped of health and fortune,
robbed of skills to earn his bread,
made slow in thought, but quick to anger?
What if a simple question plagues him.
Why should it be me?
Why not him, or her, or even you?
What have I done, that brands me unforgiven?
What if this question poisons sleep
and drives all peaceful dreams away?
What if the sinews of the morning
find him with a company of horsemen
clinging to the reins of nightmares?
All around him lies a landscape
sculpted by a century of war,
where corpses swing from every bridge,
and, running up the chains that bind,
are sleek black rats that have no time
to stop and stare at every stranger.
What if he climbs a mountain range,
to reach the brink of some dark cliff,
not to jump or pitch in the abyss,
but reaching down, his arms outstretched,
to find a clue to give a meaning to his life?
What if, against all expectation,
his fingers grasp a sacred stone?
What if, in a fevered state,
his mare gone lame, he staggers home,
clutching to his breast a grimy rag,
within its folds a perfect gem;
how can he be sure
that, waking later in the morning,
this costly charm, that waxed so eloquent
by night, will not be waning in the sunlight,
its secrets spilling into water,
his fingers trailing blood and ice?
As yet his question has no answer.
If you believe in him and wish him well,
pray God to send a brighter moon,
for he'll be setting out again, tonight.
