23rd May 2021 (Inspiration 19th May 2021)
Part 1
I will walk to The Far,
As Sun and snowcrump turquoise sea command.
The Far, withining its own:
Beyond the ambitions of others, peace –
Which we, who understand, will ever respect.
The Far respects, only respects, the honesty of skin
And silent swims, such that
Whimbrels, unworried, stay the glittering shingle,
And oystercatchers do not quit their barnacle perches –
Though always, of course, nerved observant.
The Far, whose stormsurvivor pipits
Seem to offer close-flown swoops of greeting
To those rare who know the How of quiet.
Part 2
We shall never share the where of The Far
Because some of you are, it sads me to say, not deserving…
No matter your reaching desire,
Your protesting claims of intended respect:
You would, we can tell,
Spill it with cans, bottles, and junketing wrappers –
And don’t pout-protest an otherwise, you liars!
Agreed: it’s not that, as some do,
You think that littering’s a right:
Behaving Responsibly is a Cool Meme
For folk who communicate as hotly as you.
But, heads crammed with the electronic ignorance you think knowledge,
You are so confident
That you and your friends are all so special,
So important to The World and not just yourselves,
That the instant Somewhere Else trends better…
Rush, rush, you must, to be there too,
Upload your silicon selves
In those everselfish selfie pictures;
Thus, stopping just a moment longer anywhere
To gather your hipster-brand detritus –
AS IF!
© Christopher Jessop 2021
