Labi Siffre - Into The Light

The Man

In the mid of night
At the top of the stairs
In the dark he wonders
That he made wise choices
That led him to this discontent

He reminds himself, that constant,
Happiness demands unhealthy detachments
From the world; he navigates
The stairs, the hall, feeling
The gaze of his recent portrait on the wall
He shivers as millions walk
Over a million graves; he steps into the study
And closes the door

With three quick paces
Sanctuary he gains; by the sleeping fire
He dozes in the grasp of the armchair
Not daring, yet, artificial light
Too soon the sun, behind Welsh mist,
Will insist. Till then he wanders in and out
Of sleep and solace in a brief version of this
___

The Secret War

Amazing, the similarity between these
Creatures and human beings. The mimicry
Is almost perfect. Physically there is no way
Of detecting the fraud. But after days, weeks,
Months, years in their company, the haze
Fades and one cannot ignore that inhuman
Dedicated rejection of intellectual activity
___

Bigger fish

Having drowned yet another nominally
Innocent human being, the ocean
For one moment feels twin surges

Of anxiety and apprehension;
Can the arrival of battleships, aircraft
Carriers and cruisers be more than coincidence?
___

Wonder

This evening, on the balcony overlooking the village
Of Santa Capito de Monteligne, he can hear
Several dogs competing with a tree frog;
The frog is winning

Tomorrow morning at seven eighteen
Before the rest of the family have broken his peace
From the balcony he will watch as a Jay
Unfolding and folding its crest, hops
Among the shrubbery by the red shed

Pausing, twisting, this way, that, its head searching
Looking and listening he will see the Jay,
With a single flap of its wings, leap and land
A bright green tree frog dangling in its beak

Impressed, enlightened, but with a hint of fear
Mid a chorus of barking he will wonder
At the political power of dogs
___

Taliban

The lake with no stream in or out has forgotten
The ocean. You have forgotten your home.
Though the breeze remembers and whispers
“There is a land of truth awaiting you”
You are trapped here by the fear of women
Freed from your control

You have forgotten how to build, but you know well
How to persuade your sons to kill; you promise them
The lie of eternal sex with renewable virgins
Young girls, of course eager to be deflowered
By any of you:
It’s a man’s world (men have written)
And heaven too (men have written). Most
Women, ungrateful of your claimed superiority,
Go to hell (men have written)

With self-interest masquerading as faith
Allergic to mirrors, you are unable to rise
Surrounded by mountains that see
Beyond you; laughing they enjoy gossip and family
Banter with the sky, while you
Torture, live, kill and die
With fear in your hearts
Ice in your lies

Aeons will pass
You will not have grown
Be comforted
You are far from alone
___

Peace

A deluge of rain is falling
Yet the sky is clear, vacation blue
This anomaly occurs now with disquieting frequency

Heresy to some, evolution may answer the call
Perhaps those with naturally curly hair will be first
To benefit from the effects of DNA induced
Horizontal rigid hair growth
Muscle controlled
Protractible

Of course, we will be denied, born generations
Too soon, the convenience of these integral
Personal umbrellas;
Life has a way of disappointing those
With fertile imaginations
___