Poem 112 – The Award Goes To…

One cracks a joke
And in response
It gets slapped down

To rein us in
It used to be
Your eye for mine

But violence met
With more violence
Is twice the pain

A better way
Must surely be
To turn the cheek

This act of strength
Defies the bully
Without becoming one

Is violence the best response? An eye for an eye was only meant to stop us from escalating levels of revenge in the name of justice, but does it make things right? I’m not sure it does.
(29.03.22)

© Ben Quant 2022

Poem 20 – Testing Times

Filtered faces disguise
Deep fakes deceive
Social media echo chambers
Brexit lies or frees

Fishing boats blockade
Protestors bar the way
Climate change deniers frustrate
Empty shelves just tease

Practise track and trace
Download the Covid app
Swab the tonsils jab the nose
Negative test please…

It’s been a confusing and tempestuous few years and to top it all I was just asked to take a Covid test...

(31.10.21)

© Ben Quant 2021