LYNN WHITE

 

 

Performance Art

 

He’s the last man standing.

 

And whether comedian

or statesman

performance is all

for the last man standing.

Standing in the rubble of the city.

Standing on the bodies of the dead heroes,

those lions led by donkeys once again.

No more laughter,

no more tears,

the final curtain

came down on them.

Hollow victory

or glorious defeat

it’s all the same to them.

 

But the last man still stands,

the star of the show

temporarily.

 

God Given

 

If such a creature didn’t exist

we’d have to invent it for sure.

Whether Zeus or Allah,

Jehovah or any of the rest,

all fulfil the same

purpose.

All create a framework

of behaviour,

the laws of god

which must be obeyed

without argument,

without thinking,

without due process.

All create a framework

of rights.

Some have them,

others don’t.

They’re god given

so no argument,

no thinking,

needed.

And all need a territory,

a god given territory

from the beginning of time

and for evermore

No argument,

no thinking,

god given.

 

Now And Then

 

Now the clouds are pressing down

making everything grey,

everything misty.

It’s impossible to discern which way

people are facing.

It looks like everyone

is facing both ways,

so it is impossible to know who to follow,

impossible to know which path to take,

which is the good and which is bad.

 

Then, in the old days

it was all so clear.

This was the way.

These were the good guys,

the brave guys with the guns,

sending out their scouts

from the circled wagons

of peaceful pioneers

in search of a better life

in the vast empty land.

Protecting them from

the bad guys,

the savages,

the cowardly braves

with the bows and arrows

and scalping knives.

 

It didn’t always go to plan.

But the cavalry usually

arrived just in time.

And the good guys

always won

in the end.

 

Didn’t they?

 

Victory

 

No matter how hard

they think it would be

to get that kind of blood

off their hands and clothes,

they know that they should try.

But the killing has been so tiring

they just want to sleep now

and then it should be time

to stand tall and proud

ready to return

victorious

again.

 

The Expert Shot

 

I’m an expert shot.

I can hit a child’s head

every time

when I’m following orders

and sometimes

when I’m not.

 

I’m an expert shot.

I can hit a surgeon’s hand

every time

when I’m following orders

and sometimes

when I’m not.

 

I’m an expert shot.

I can hit a young man’s balls

every time

when I’m following orders

and sometimes

when I’m not.

 

I’m an expert shot.

I can hit a footballer’s foot

every time

when I’m following orders

and sometimes

when I’m not.

 

I can do other things as well

when I’m ordered

and even

when I’m not.

 

LYNN WHITE

 

LYNN WHITE lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for Pushcarts, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award.