Our Public Transit Service ( a poem for Ally The Cat )

They old ones, they hunger for your life blood.

One cannot stress

enough the cruelty

of the gods.

Ancient, 

unkind, 

vindictive. 

They draw power,

they receive strength,

from unwarranted worship. 

Newer, kinder deities 

have long existed,

but the old ways, 

no matter the

arguments raised against them

will always remain. 

Poor, 

downtrodden, 

huddled masses.

Bowing at alters

long since broken, 

long since desecrated. 

They offer all 

in sacrifice.... 

Their time. 

placed on the steps. 

Their money, 

put into the collection plate. 

Their self respect, 

sacrificed on the table,

their heart burned in

in the cauldron. 

Beware Their Troops, 

now taking the form of buses,

their noxious fumes bellow, 

choking the life 

and the veins  

of all it encounter. 

"Give to me your minutes, 

your hours!" It says. 

And all those 

seeking to be nowhere

and anywhere else at all, 

sit inside this

poor imitation of hope. 

In exchange for his love, 

all will be late. 

You will only arrive 

to the destinations of it's choosing, 

none convenient, 

none within a fraction of reason, 

and none with a hope of safety. 

You wait in ill maintained

jokes of shelter, 

awaiting a god that 

does not deserve you.

But what choice do you have?

It's all you know.

And question not 

the liquids that 

have reserved the seats beside you, 

the smells that 

have been there long before you. 

The markings of 

seething hatred adorning the walls.

Beware their Historians , 

The ones in the form of trolleys. 

They serve only 

to usher you 

to broken homes,

to broken business,

to broken dreams. 

They pace 

back and forth, 

Going and coming,

to places of little import, 

having long since been

abandoned. 

They want your backs. 

They want your warmth. 

They want you to see 

all they have taken, 

for they were here 

before you arrived, 

and take pride in

reminding you of 

what you could well become. 

Forgotten. 

Alone. 

and Pointless. 

And Beware the New Guard.

Our light Rail. 

A new slap of paint

on an old trojan horse. 

Insidious in it's attempt at promise, 

Though obvious in it lack of efforts

to all that truly study the thing. 

Available to only some,

wanted by those that can't receive it, 

and serving only those that don't need it. 

It's a cunning insult. 

"Look at all we could do, 

had we only cared about you. 

Thou shall be regulated to the buses, 

for you cannot afford the land to which I travel, 

and those that dwell there do not need me.

I am the ghost, the reminder, 

that while we have 

the power to change 

things for the better, 

we choose not to.

We'd rather not venture

to your neighborhood."

It is pristine

as it is untouched. 

It is untouched, 

as it is untouchable. 

It is untouchable, 

as it was planned that way. 

How cruel,

this service planned as novelty. 

What better way to remind you

they do not care about you. 

and should you escape, 

now it is by those gods

sick humor. 

For one needs to escape

to give hope to the others. 

You see their freedom and think

"That could be me one day too!"

And the old gods simply laugh. 

"Of course it could, guy." 

"Of course it could."    

Author's Note

This was written because someone recommended I do so. I have a thought, but not one I will broadcast as well as I could, that should you enjoy this, and would like to see more, give me a topic and I will see what I can do.

Reviews

[Frank]

It is a good rant poem Brandon and you have raised some interesting issues here some in an amusing analogous way. Many are as old as the hills and is solved or attempted to be solved by economics. Economics is the science devoted to the idea of sharing all wealth in society and fairly.

That is to say the more talented people of this world, talents as brain's, ability, looks, physique and so on and so on... are rewarded by that contribution to society, hence doctors who heal and save lived get an enormous salary compared say to a dust man.

But in a mixed economy like Britain, we hold that the less fortunate, the disabled, the mentally challenged and other are not driven into abject poverty as Biblical day. The state undertakes to be a carer in a way by providing a safety net, and that safety net is paid for by taxation, by taxing those who do earn a good salary.

Since the French revolution, where the mobs executed the highly privileged nobility en masse, governments have become nervous of civil unrest. No government now ignores it people certainly not if they approach starvation levels.

In all this there is an unfairness in most societies, hence the move towards legalising minority groups who were previously criminalised by the state. For example, abortionists, homosexuals, transgender, and Satanists. For my own preferences, I am against all of those groups, the four mentioned above.

To my mind the world is an infinitely better place since the death of Christ at the cross. Religion, if it is pure religion, does change lives. And religious people on the whole respect life and other people.

I believe this world will continue to be a fallen world with many injustices, but it is getting better and hopefully will be infinitely be better by the time He returns in glory and in might.

Thank you for your poem.

[Tinotenda Nyevedzanai]

I love it!

Wonderful analogies used here, I really enjoy your style.

"You will only arrive
to the destinations of it's choosing,
none convenient,
none within a fraction of reason,
and none with a hope of safety."

That really made me laugh, I hate how bus stops always require you to still walk forever (usually in rain) to reach your destination and as you quite rightly point out, it isn't safe to do so.

"Thou shall be regulated to the buses,
for you cannot afford the land to which I travel,
and those that dwell there do not need me.
I am the ghost, the reminder,
that while we have
the power to change
things for the better,
we choose not to."

This is my favorite part, the entire poem relating to God and "The Man" is wonderful particularly those last three lines really caught my eye, we have the power to change for better but choose not to because we are so lazy and it is easier to succumb to the structured environment that civilized society dictates.

All in all a very well written piece I thoroughly enjoyed it I shall be inclined to give you further challenges in the future it looks like you really had fun with this one.

[Brandon Wesley Mckay]

I did have a good time with this. It was a hoot to write. Thanks for the notion, and I am very happy you enjoyed it. Keep em coming. I will write all the things. now back to the bookie wookie.