They were young
Their parents were gone
and like most, nobody else
wanted them
except themselves –
They desperately wanted
to keep themselves.
Who doesn’t?
Running wild
playing Kings & Queens
atop great mountains
of rich people’s rubbish
it’s not the same as
poor people’s rubbish,
it’s amazing what shiny things
you can find to keep
from the refuse of those
with more than they need
We dress in the fineries
of the no longer loved
We make believe on top
of 1000 abandoned dreams
Many of them are broken
but that’s OK
That’s the nature of dreams –
So are we
We never expected
while reigning over
our Kingdom of Dirt
to one day find
amongst the trash
a tiny, helpless baby
It was young
It’s parents gone
Seemed like nobody
had wanted them –
Except us
We did.
We desperately
wanted to keep him
So when the cops
came looking
we ran
They ran further
than they’d ever gone
Only one could read
the road signs
At least, some of them
Stopping only to sleep
and feed the one
unbroken dream
they’d ever held
in their hands
Holding our loot
of the very much loved
We ran through
1000 abandoned streets
Many of them were broken
But that’s OK
That’s the nature of streets –
so are we
But cops have cars
And cops can fly
And cops have 1000
spying eyes
And we were betrayed
again and again
by the broken and broke
for cash prize
We know you looked
after him well, they told us
We’ll send you pictures
They said
We’re very grateful to you
but now it’s time
to put him down
and leave
Such good kids,
such kind kids,
That’s right,
now step away
a little more,
just a little bit more
Good good
Then took their guns
and shot us down anyway
We are the finery
of the no longer loved
We died atop
of 1000 lost dreams
All of them broken
but that’s just the way,
That’s the nature of love –
So are we
***************************************
Napowrimo Day 1
The prompt was ‘Write – without consulting the book – a poem that recounts the plot, or some portion of the plot, of a novel that you remember having liked but that you haven’t read in a long time’.
I was thinking of a novel by Melvin Burgess, apparently called The Baby and Fly Pie, though I had to look it up in order to write this blurb, as I couldn’t remember?
It’s been many years since I read it, but parts of it remain very vivid in my mind. It clearly had a profound effect on me.
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