Bryn Haworth
Thumbs Down
Having made the fire
And warmed the room up
I'm forced to shudder
Like an un-Roman Roman
(Surprisingly, there were some)
As they buzz out into the arena
Once more, before they perish:
Flies that can hardly
Live up to their name.
When they attempt flight, they topple
Flat on their twitching wings, in an ecstasy
Of latecomers' frustration.
But they think it's spring.
They think they're in with a rare chance,
First in the Queue of Life
Ready to tuck in at all the best cowpats
Before you can't move for the riff-raff.
Ah, the Primavera, the first green
Transmuted into second brown.
And all the time these dirtballs
Can barely stay upright,
Knackered by past excesses,
Stumbling about like a nation
Grown old in one go.
For this is that other season
When their wings fray,
Their hands, wrung before them
In joyous expectation, stiffen
One by one, and their eyes
Boggle as they crisp to a husk,
Dwindle into dry, metallic balls,
And twitch into nothingness
Strewn across the arena.
Page(s) 9
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