Remorse Code

Fast
too long in aspic,
antipathy for wind-chill
kills the arable concern..

Have 
Listened to
the shipping-forecast-
victuals of an Island-race-
recur their little mysteries
from keeping.

Been
pacing off
the Malin Head in
fossil-fueled embarrassment,
deciphering a sense of self

and deepening.

Reviews

[Neville]

You might not be able to paint, but you sure can write & these words are more succulent than larks tongues suspended in that aspic you refer to.... N

[Alistair (Ali)]

That made me chuckle!- Thank you Neville, and forgive the delay- I work on the streakiest of laptops- and getting the thing up and running is an achievement i itself!
Thank you my friend, and I hope the day finds you well.

[Neville]

as always a pleasure and entirely mine... and back at ya... N

[Alistair (Ali)]

Thank you mate!

[Neville]

no worries.. :)

[lightsong]

I've read Your poem few times, each time wondering and wondering about Your mind, You always write in such a unique way.

though I feel blood, fighting in the upcoming sailing, but Your lonely and sad heart filled Your words with gloominess, are You regretting leaving Your home an been away from it? or are You regressing being in a journey where brothers will be fighting together, instead of being as one (this what I got from Your words, it might be wrong), still, with all of this, it's a journey for You, for Your own self and spirit to go deep, as deep as the ocean can be.

I feel here, an emotional poet sailor, His spirit dances over His page. suddenly all of this brought to my mind one of the of Vicky the Viking's characters (an old cartoon), Ulme, whom was the Viking Bard.

[Alistair (Ali)]

Thank you my friend , for those kindest of words and wisest of insights, and I am touched that you found such movement within the piece.
And you are right, there is regret as there is shame.
There is regret for the gradual entrapment and brainwashing of the human spirit, via lives of quiet servitude.
There is shame, the recognition of
potential diminished and unrealised, trained and drained for consumerism which is sold as the illusion of happiness ..filling our spaces with needless clutter, shrinking the borders of
individual thought...that last bastion of freedom and the well spring of change.
We are profiled, labelled and categorized, predictable and easily manipulated by systems that govern.
I feel this when the wind blows from certain quarters.
and When the curtain is briefly lifted, and we can look out toward the deep mysteries of space,
I recall the "Earthrise" photograph from the Apollo 8 mission and, still, after all these years find it profoundly moving..." Beautiful" is a far too lesser word to describe it.
It truly is a breath- stealing image...and it's our home.
And what have we done with it?
We over- populate, fly our flags, bang our drums, peddle our religions, burn our forests, pollute our seas eradicate species with impunity,...how, on Earth are we evolving?
We have such possibility yet have traded it all in for a business model with drivers of profit and greed.
and Where are the indigenous peoples? ..the, recognised wiser custodians of the planet?
Subsumed or displaced,..turfed off their lands( that also happen to be rich in mineral deposits or ripe for development) largely unmentioned and forgotten.....and yet i cannot help thinking that these are the apex of our species with regards to their understanding of the value of our habitat....their insights far more sustainable and rooted than the bilious reach of our tawdry little empires.
What could they have taught us if only we cared to listen....to really listen....
We have lost our sense of wonder, of symbiosis, of reverence...we take our place for granted..not as something extraordinary to be treasured

What is our collective aim?
And is there a " collective"...After all, a communal philosophy that proffers an alternative could prove difficult to subdue, far better the divide and conquer strategy that panders to the subtle edges of an avarice, that becomes our modern way.
While we bury our head in the sands of social media baying for loves and likes, we are drip-fed endless propaganda and advertising..
Outside our window there is a green unpleasant land sprayed with herbicide, insecticide, devoid of natural diversity by the sweep of our constant chemicals..
Where now , the fresh air ?

The curtain falls and I’m back in my day job, paying over the odds , but grateful of income...enough to get by..i have sorted the bills and might treat myself to a couple of t- shirts i have seen in the sale- (less than half price- you cant beat a good bargain) ….Will have a few beers while watching the game and cheer on my team...there is a chance of silverware this season....
I am suitably anaesthetized and gently returned to my conformity.
It seems easier this way....


This isn’t the search for some utopian cloud- kingdom, more of a quest for a balance of sorts.
I do not consider myself hard done by...I am more fortunate than many and will always place laughter above tears
But I am of an island race encircled by powerful waters....as they appear to protect, then so do they threaten...

I have no manifesto,...I am the product of my age...and I sleepwalk through this gift of life , but as i sleep so too i sometimes dream
dream of a pathway through and out beyond the high rise, over the weather- won tides, that leads to somewhere different, somewhere we have never been...

I have tried to summon the ghost of these thoughts and feelings through the verse....and if you managed to get to the end of this bit, then very well done to you, and thank you!

Take care my friend, and speak soon!

[lightsong]

when my time allows, I WILL take the time to comment back to Your most magnificent thoughts, feelings and words.

Take care of Your precocious mind my intelligent caring friend, and know it surely deserves to keep dreaming, as Your spirit deserves to keep soaring free.

so soon my friend, SO soon!