Thus I Wrote

One to the east
And one to the west
The world spins
On some new quest
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

America is lost
Broken in two
Republican selfishness
Breaking anew
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

China arises
From its slumber
Values are questionable
But can’t ignore numbers
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

Europe straining
Between two poles
Holding centre values
Taking its toll
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

Britain a wrecking ball
Breaking away
A barking dog following
Republican America
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

100 years ago
Similar words were said
As wars ravaged
And many were dead
Are we turning into
New conflicts to behold
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

They have no shame
Because they are taught to be so
Fair play is for the many
A controlling show

They have no boundaries
No rules they follow
Under their act
Inside they are hollow.

Norms and convention
Are no shackles for them
Decency and humanity
They abuse again

Holding power is all
Using any culture war
They keep friends near
And others far

They hide in plain sight
They are a rich elite
They blame others
To distract from this deceit

There’s a fall
In democracy
There’s a rise
In autocracy
I look to the future
But it’s closed to me

We’ve grown
To 8 Billion strong
Doubled in 50 years
That’s not long
I grew in that time
But I’m only one

Relatively it’s been
A season of creation
A spring after winter
Such co-operation
But this can change
Winter lurks in rotation

She chose the one she loved the most
And I who loved me the most
Her love it banished my fears
And we grew and unfurled
Hand in hand to serve the world
Together throughout the years

I never knew the power she gave
The joy or sadness I gave
By what my face would say
Like not giving all my attention
When she wanted to mention
All the little things in her day

I watched a woman to the end
As she talked to her friend
With such concentrated attention
It was a masterclass
In the beautiful art
Of the active listening dimension

I’ve seen the power and  I’ve seen the glory
I was seated at the feast,
I celebrated many ceremonies
I was dark and aloof as a priest.
Somehow I  felt seduced
And that I was asked to betray,
And I felt too excluded
To make an instinctive play.

I was often defeated
But never did I lose,
I felt I had too few options
But I was brave enough to choose.
I sailed the stormy ocean
Till I landed here on this shore,
But I had heard the siren’s song
For a long time before.

I drank into the night
To lose myself for a while,
And sometimes I found a dark portrait
With a face-torn smile.
And I have given my love willingly,
It was not from manacles torn.
But since  then I’ve seen my love die
And I’ve seen something else born.

I was often defeated
But never did I lose,
I felt I had too few options
But I was brave enough to choose.
And all that I want now
Is of no consequence,
For I am but stardust
For this world to dispense.