Orphaned Islands (Un)poetry

Paul was different from the rest of us
most took themselves, but not study seriously,
he did neither.
Droll, arriving late at a seminar
opening the door and saying,
“ it smells like there’ s monkeys in here playing poker ”
and
another time someone said it was so cold he might
need to engage in auto eroticism to warm up
Paul, instantly and slow march replied
“ never masturbate in the morning,
you don’t know who you’ll meet in the afternoon.”
Most thought it clever to seek out easy credits
to boost grades to pad course loads – geography,
psychology,
introductory mathematics or statistics,
the then unrestricted environmental studies
4 – 6 credits times 3 or 4 towards 96 – ka-ching.

Except Paul, doing Swedish
he didn’t seem to understand –
why not the time-honoured Dodge of
geography, psychology, et cetera et cetera?
“Because old boy I spent three years in Sweden as a child
I speak Swedish rather well,
if I do say so myself.”

Kiss and tell –
perhaps there had been kisses, but,
the memoir was more tell
and tell
as the actress said to the bishop
or rather the actress said of the politician.

An affair,
clandestine, frequent, long-lived
and oh so sensual and torrid.
Clues scattered through the pages
scents for the pursuing media hounds
trails and elimination
the quarry trapped at the last page –
they are sure
forensics – it has to be him –
description, dates, locations.

He opens the elegant door to
straining, unleashed, questions and cameras,
flashbulbs and shouting
“Did You? Is It You? It Has To Be You!
“No. It Wasn’t. It Isn’t, but
I wish it had been.”

For a while it was the best show in town
intrigue, betrayal, double-cross and murder.
Hollywood couldn’t have scripted such a tail –
would have been condemned as too contrived –
too unbelievable
nine appearances, reviews, enquiries and appeals
tried and convicted
then re tried and convicted
if capital punishment was still statute
he would have hung, twice.

Doubt never doubted the new evidence –
fabrication
and falsehood
released – immediately
and a commission of enquiry ordered.
The chairman was hanging judge from days distant
appointed
to separate truth and lies, error and malfeasance.
The order had been reversed, the chief investigator grilled,
interrogation and prevarication
tempers strained then snarling
the judge said
“ Mr Hutton are you thick?
Thick, your honour ?
– stupid, slow, challenged, unintelligent
ah, ah, ah
because either you’re thick, or you’re lying
I prefer to think that you were thick.”