About three weeks ago like a fool
I injured my back picking up a bag of soil
The next day I went to a football match
Where I stood rather still for nearly two hours
I walked home that day as the buses were poor
And after about a mile became aware
That I was limping as my back was hurting a great deal
I was leaning to the left which haunted me
And stopped when people passed by
As I like to be seen as a strong man
There were posters on the brick walls
Protesting about all things petty
I tore them down as I cared little
For their causes full stop full stop .
If my family had owned slaves in the past
Then so be it as it was a historical detail
One cannot change history that is obvious
Why were people getting so upset about this
It did not make sense
No sense at all
It was as I limped under a railway bridge
That I noticed some yobs attacking an effeminate guy
In a strange way this afforded me pleasure
So I encouraged them with my indifference
I question my actions but felt no guilt
My back was hurting and I was angry
Really fucking angry
Yet I still had the strength to remove the posters
As they annoyed me so much
I dislike identity politics
As I can see their roads clearly
Others cannot see this
What cunts they are
I was nearing a main road
When I found a kitten in the gutter
It had been caught by a car and was dazed
And although it was difficult I picked it up
The kitten was so soft and trusting
And before I knew it I was weeping
All my pain both physical and mental was leaving me
A woman who was carrying a Mondrian poster
Came up to me and enquired of my grief
She was also crying
I told her that with love
The kitten would recover
She invited me into her red brick house
We shared a cup of mint tea
She gave the kitten some milk
Which was accepted happily
Margaret was her name
(I was Martin)
Margaret said that her husband was in prison
As he had beaten a migrant to death
I asked her whether his actions were justified
She said that he would do it again
Was there a reason for this violence
It was enough that the man had invaded these shores
I admired her poster and she told me that it was her treat
As she had killed someone herself with a stolen axe
To carry on her husbands good work
Was I shocked
No
Would I do the same
That is a question that I could not answer
I said that the order was breaking down
And that violence would become more common
They go hand in hand
Did I think ill of her
No
It was all black and white
There were no grey areas
She later enquired of my painful injury
I noted that it would go in time
But it made me angry
I could blame no one but myself
But I blamed all who offended me
We both then prayed for the kitten
Which was asleep on a white cushion