Windrush
for Amelia Gentleman
(‘Davout looked up and gazed intently at him. For some seconds they lookedat one another, and that look saved Pierre . . . and they realised that theywere children of humanity and were brothers.’) War and Peace
Not only thieves humiliate and rob a man -A strip-search and probing sterile fingersSteal the carapace of humanity whichWe all don to bolster a fragile frame.There is no this-day-and-age for the vileBully who, in rude health, kicks the crippleBecause he can kick him –
And no caped crusader in our midstTo right an obvious wrong.But today I stare at the photo ofA journalist who reminds her readersThat when a man is robbed of his lifeThe thief cannot hide in the tangle of wordsOr the claims of High Office.Nor can a man say he’s a faceless bureaucrat:Only a man disfigured – without eyes -Unable to see fear, anguish and tears.