projecting II
A projective verse poem connecting historical memory, addiction, power, and modern social realities. projecting II moves between the Opium Wars and a contemporary street scene, questioning how the consequences of past decisions continue to shape the present.
it is madness to live
(without breaking rules)
especially when you know
c r e a t e d
laws
that
govern
(pause)
are then twisted
coined as a phrase
inducing buddies
inside >
projected
down
generations
whose guns past pushed Opium,
upon flung out addicts
smacked out in alleys
while others got high
cramped under zinc roofs.
through the port,
poison marshalled
with flintlocks cocked –
local officials locked
in pointless negotiations
pleading for silver
in exchange for tea
but lost / the argument…
200 years later?
nothing is new –
today the sun is shining
and under it
the same governors
collect huge sums
because canal-side
on my doorstep
it’s like 20 20 vision
i watch
three men hunched
shabbily clothed,
one holds tin foil
with his soiled
shaky fingers,
the other fires light
to an odious brown
the other tears open
a packet of syringes
as strangers move
to and fro unhinged
holding heads straight
as if not noticing
what was pointedly
in your face.
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