Responsibility

the kid

sitting on a garden wall

swigging Carling

as the rain spits

on the cigarette butts

at his feet

 

does he remember that there is a choice?

would he even think to remember?

 

tonight is the highlight

of mum’s week

Ladies Bingo at the club

her and her mates

falling through the front door

all cackling laughter

and low-cut glitter

 

hurling empty cans and

slurring abuse at

passer bys who

accidentally make

eye contact

he and his friends

are 2-dimensional

anti-social puzzles

 

half-way up the street

another kid

headphones on

blocking their noise

of smashing glass and shouts

finishes English homework

with a tea-towel of ice

pressed to a swelling eye

 

downstairs, dad’s temper

is on its tenth beer

slumped in front

of the television

with no idea if his children

are home or not

nor whether they excel at maths

do well in history

or even go to school

 

this kid is making As and Bs

studying hard in-between

raising three siblings

and himself

and worrying about

being good enough

to go to university

 

maybe opportunity

should be seen

as cause and effect

of responsibility

 

to the self

and to all of humanity

 

for at some point

in their existence

people can choose

to take

the path of least resistance

or to not let their

intelligence go to waste

 

Author's Note

Deliberate non-punctuation...does it work ok?
Let me know what you think of this. Thanks.

Reviews

[Coromandel]

I beleive in you, but theres alot on my plate if you can maybe understand my frustration, but I'm holding on for dear life, infact fear is soothing now as I type cheers:) What do I call you?