In this moment

A man's a man for all that? (Robert Burns)

In this moment we …

 

wake and listen to music on the radio

 

say good morning to each other

 

enjoy tea in bed before we rise

 

enjoy coffee and croissant for breakfast

 

read the Sunday newspapers

 

skype our younger son in Australia

 

spend time tidying the garden

 

visit a cafe with friends

 

walk in the country and enjoy the views

 

drive down to the coast to visit my mother

 

take her out for tea and cake

 

 

 

In this moment I …..

 

am now adrift in the Mediterranean with my three children, we have not eaten nor had water for days

 

live in Iraq, Islamic state have just captured our village, seven of our men have been beheaded

 

have been in death row in Texas for seventeen years, in three days I will be executed by lethal injection. I am innocent. I am black

 

have been a prisoner in work camp 27B in North Korea, we are worked to death and eat grass, rats and insects to survive,  are beaten on any excuse and on none

 

have been held in a Syrian army detention centre for eight months. We are beaten and subjected to torture daily.  No one know I am here.

 

am in a Saudi prison, I am a journalist.  This morning I will taken to the yard and given my weekly 50 lashes, my sentence is 1000 lashes. My crime was writing about the royal family.

 

am eleven years old; I am a child soldier in Africa. Last week I killed two people with a machete

 

am from Romania, I am eighteen years old. I came to Britain with the promise of hotel work but when I arrived I was locked in a room, beaten, raped and now I am forced to work as a prostitute.

 

 

In this moment we ….

 

are visited by our elder son and chat about the week

 

all go to a local pub for an evening meal

 

watch the latest drama on television

 

enjoy a bottle of French wine

 

listen to the  latest news before bed

 

complain that all we hear is bad news

 

Reviews

[Armistead Lindsey]

yet another one of your poems where I had to walk away and come back before writing any kind of response.

the contrast used between the typical day to day person going about their respective live and the immersive middle section where it places you in the shoes of those who are living in the worlds atrocities is extremely effective. it made me sit back and really reflect about the awful things we forget are happening all the time.

the final line perfectly summarizes how desensitized we have become to the goings on of the world, and how we dismiss it as a blight on our own lives without fully thinking about the reality faced by those in the 'bad news'.

Another fantastic piece!

[alanwgraham]

Apologies for slightly late reply to your wonderfully kind words Armistead. Yes - what a wonderful and awful world we live in.,
I hope you are still sharing your own great words.
Alan

[Onlyme]

Exactly being thankful for what you do have. As other people across this world. Are absolutely having a vile, evil devastating time to say the least. And at any moment they could be killed, raped or slaughtered. It's the small things that matter the most. Safety, family, food, water and roof overhead.

[alanwgraham]

Thanks for your comments Dawn. It's too easy, when most of lead our comfortable lives , to forget that many other people are suffering in all sorts of ways.
Hope you are well.
Alan

[Chris Shaw]

Living in the moment and appreciating the simple pleasures in life is far more important than we think. The comparison to what is going on elsewhere is stark and brutal. We should never take those simple pleasures for granted, because others would literally give their lives to be within grasp of them. We live in a brutal world, that still has some threads of goodness woven into it. A great read Alan. Really makes you stop and think how fragile life is and how insignificant we are in the bigger picture.

Chris

[alanwgraham]

Thanks Chris. Perhaps this was not very subtle but it's easy for us to become lost in our own comfort and forget the outside world. Having said that we are heading for Mallorca shortly!
Hope you are wen.
Alan

[Chris Shaw]

Have a great holiday Alan. Escaping the wet and windy March days here for some sun. Have fun.

[alanwgraham]

Thanks Chris.

[Kent Rawski]

what a sudden departure a rupture of our shielded mind what makes it so powerful is its truth these things happen are real, problem is lessons usually aren't learned until they hit us hard wake us up and snap us to attention we become hardened to things they say it is an instinctive self preservation for our own good but we should be grateful for many things in life and thank GOD

[alanwgraham]

Thanks for reading this and your comments Kent. Many of us are lucky to live safe from these horrors but is good to remember
Regards,
Alan

[Tom]

A stark and hard hitting comparison, the world can be a quite exquisite place for some, sadly for many others, a living nightmare!

Literal food for thought my friend, let us not take our position or status for granted, and be gracious to thus less favoured!

[alanwgraham]

Thanks Tom for looking at this. It's sad that not everyone who is doing well in life realises how lucky they are.
Regards,
Alan

[...]

in this moment your poem is best what i ever read. There is lot of wonderful imanigery and lot of emotions. I love how i can read your soul from your words. Beautifuly done

[alanwgraham]

Thanks Martin. I don't really think this is a poem but there are no rules in writing. I like to make my message clear.
I was very interested when I saw you are from Christmas island- I must try to find out about it.
Cheers,
Alan

[Annie Gryphon]

So true, we complain about the bad news and forget how privileged we are. A wellmade poem, more a compressed little story, gives impulses to think about the world. I like how you frame it and how you mention all these little daily things - the television drama, the music on the radio, skyping with the son ... These things, simple and maybe sometimes boring, but what a luxury in real!
Best wishes
Annie

[alanwgraham]

Thanks Annie, Yes, you are right. It is too easy to forget how lucky many of us are, and in most cases just through an accident of birth.
Regards,
Alan

[Terry O'Leary]

An intriguing juxtaposition of 'situations'...
Those that are 'comfortable' usually have little empathy for those that aren't...

A powerful piece!!

Terry

[barleygirl]

This might be one of the most hard-hitting & brilliant things you've written that I've read so far. I absolutely love the way you are not making a point by telling us what you think of any world situation. You simply draw two word paintings & hold them side by side, which tells the whole story without any commentary needed. This is the very best way to make a political statement, in my opinion. Nobody can argue with this. Nobody can deflect or pivot or conjecture. It's all right here in black & white. You did an excellent job of picking details to show which serve your purpose perfectly, as well as being vivid & relatable. To me, the best sign of a brilliant mind is in finding a unique way to convey your words with impact.

[alanwgraham]

Thanks M. I often have to bite my tongue (not always!) when I hear people talking about some of these great issues facing us today. Then I think, 'why are they not aware of what's really happening?' There is a lot of manipulation and misinformation about!
I did wonder if this writing might be a bit too obvious and and there is no great literary merit in it but then I thought it is a very powerful and viceral idea so see how any readers react to it. I've had a wee look at your latest story - I will write a review soon.
Regards,
Alan

[John]

The middle section seems at first to describe lives far removed from the one suggested in other two parts of the poem, but that Romanian immigrant could be in the next room. There but for the grace of..an accident of birth...go II.

[alanwgraham]

Exactly. Thanks for taking time to read this.
Regards,alan

[😂]

Am fond of the pleasant scenes you evoked in the first section. I long for a simple life like that.

[alanwgraham]

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I completely agree with you!
Thanks
Alan

[😂]

ur welcome Alan

[alanwgraham]

I didn't have time to add that earlier today I just happened to read a poem by the great scottish poet Edwin morgan that is quite like your poem zuh that i reviewed. You are in great company. It is good to experiment with different forms but of course not everyone will appreciate.
Cheers,
Alan

[😂]

oh cool thanks man. I was just bored rly. I plan on scrapping all my writings and starting fresh again soon. I usually write very serious stuff, but short pieces. They range from romantic to existential to a few non-discripts. I prefer witty poetry, but brevity is something I admire in other ppls work. Your words are astounding, continue!

[alanwgraham]

I agree. Variety is the spice of life or rather life is the spice of writing. I don't think I have many bits of writing that are like each other. I'm afraid some of my storeis are a bit longer but they need to be.
Alan