WRITING, RHYMING & PHOTOGRAPHING
All Work By Matt Furnell
@mjgfurnell
RHYMING
Leave “if you can”
Cities locked down and borders closed,
A slowly spreading virus and a lingering question: can it be controlled?
Fear drives panic, drives hate, drives pain,
Families forced to separate, deciding whether to remain,
A prisoner trapped inside your own home,
Unable to be gather in groups, too scared to be alone,
Can’t go out, can’t workout, trying to figure out: what shall we do?
Should I really leave, get out, go home, but then what about you?
An ominous warning, leave China “if you can”,
And yes, I can board a plane, cross an ocean, fly back to England,
But right now, you are not welcome there,
Quarantined in China: cover your face; wash your hands; don’t breathe the air,
So, should we ignore the advice to leave,
Leave our loved ones, leave our lives, just stand from a distance and grieve?
Oh, fear drives panic, drives hate, drives pain,
What other decision is there but for us to remain?
Goodbye to you, EU.
So today they take down your flag,
For some reason, you are no longer welcome here,
Tighter borders, and colder hearts,
It's sad what people will do because of fear.
They say the people have spoken,
And yes it's true we did have a vote,
But for me, I'd rather build bridges than walls,
So dear voter, I ask you to take note.
Don't blindly trust the scapegoating media,
Corporate run, capitalist greed,
It is connection, cooperation, and cross culture communication,
That our countries really need.
So as we exit the European Union,
Remain open, remain kind, remain in hope,
Offer hands not fists to near by neighbours,
It's only together we can continue to cope.
The World Can Be Read In Many Ways
The world has no hope,
So don’t try and convince me,
The individual actions of people can make a difference,
Because at the end of the day,
Human greed and selfishness will always dominate good will and community action,
Don’t kid yourself in thinking that,
The Capitalist system is something we can over throw,
So rest assured I will remind myself,
Personal gain and economic growth are the only ways to be successful,
And nothing you say will make me believe,
People care about community needs and individual wellbeing,
Because no matter what,
People will only look out for themselves and will not care about the difficulties of others,
I do not believe that,
People will extend their hands to help pull others up,
Because whenever I look, I always think,
Is the world really that hopeless?
(Now read bottom up)
Wandering Wonderer
Busy people on busy trains,
Eyes locked on to phones and games,
Occasional smiles, looks up of interest,
A wandering wonderer, to East from West.
Pen to Paper
I grab my wet dripping ball point pen,
And engrave my nib and ink all over your page.
I scratch in my words and thoughts,
Pushing them deep and hard onto the grain.
My liquid seeps all over your paper body,
And my strokes fasten as excitement increases and heart beats raise,
I caress you, and my gentle touch glides over your empty space,
I begin to fill you up, covering the pureness of your page.
Just when you think its over, and you can't take anymore,
I flip you over,
Turn the page,
Your face now pressed down,
I start writing and riding you all over again.