Category: Greatest Hits

Adolescence coincided with the 1970’s
loose hair and tight jeans
soft notes of West Coast rock
push aside 60s guitar gurus.

The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac the new kids in town
less noise – more polish
angst spoken quietly
capturing sales and critics. Win Win.

Feminism also reduced volume
the polemic of Germane Greer and Simone de Beauvoir
replaced with the persuasion of Marilyn French
and Boston Women’s Collective.

The new literature read by a callow identity
determined to value and appreciate women
yearns for meaningful closeness
imagination rehearses urgent dialogues of inequality.

Revolution breed in the captivity of academia
it is often released to an unready catchment
earnest intensity rebuffed by women barely ex-teenagers.
The second sex happy to be both.

Newborn sensitivity carefully explained
the need to render invisible the imbalance of gender
and receives puzzled looks and abrupt termination.
An auction with no bids.

In a tobacco stained voice she asked what was wrong.
Cynthia in her late-40s probably
age blurred by three plus decades of smoking
the question self answered. “Girlfriend problems?”

Time and place parent unlikely friendship
vacation factory work
stations serious youth alongside relentless cheer
three months of constant chatter builds comfortable dialogue.

Disclosure confesses inability to find meaningful other
cigarette voice smoke signals absolution
“when the right one comes along …. you’ll just know
I did with each of my three husbands.”
She had not been widowed.

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There was no training programme for supervisors
the work without skill
heavy, simple and monotonous
the best performed from the year before
promoted by productivity
showing what they had been shown.

Keep an eye on the people the boss said.
He also said this contract returned twenty percent
and to offer perspective
the industry typically spent 95 cents creating a dollar.
Keeping the customer satisfied unspoken
but heard loud and clear.

Her answer was so unexpected
she said she understood kitchens could be tense
that urgency and urging were often required.
But it was my tone
one she knew well –  from her six month marriage.
The tone came first
then the violence.

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Hierarchy
even when achievement is long and distinguished
a single entity stands alone
a book
a film
a performance
a pinnacle not previously summitted, And never again.

The second year in the school was mine
the first year had gone well
and the following five all pretty good too.
But the second was a perfect year
everything unfolding smoothly, symmetrically – no kink or rush
even football
we almost won the championship.

Our form master was exactly what God had in mind
when designing a homeroom teacher for 12-year-old boys.
Fair, firm, compassionate, fun-loving, tolerant
and wise
knowing the almost adolescents were still children
and the world would bear down …. soon enough.

Its official name was The General Excellence Award
one per class
we called it the poofter prize
openly disparaging it
but secretly desirous.

Two days before prize giving
our form master takes me aside
The General Excellence Award
came down to me and John
but John is leaving the school
going to a bigger school – where he won’t be known.
I was staying here
I’d get the prize – “ it was just a matter of time.”

I never did.
No conspiracy
the next five years were all good
that year – the second – was my perihelion.

I took it to mean I should have won
a 12 year old felt betrayed
he’d broken the rules
dishonesty – by his own impeccable standards.
A fifty something is pleased he did
it was a Catholic school and a very Christian thing to do.

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