How To Die (a poem dedicated to Sir Bob Geldof)

How To Die! (dedicated to Sir Bob Geldof)

(dedicated to Sir Bob Geldof)

Suspended in the hammock
of vein stained hands
his head gently rocked

As a million stomachs grumbled

His elbows the fulcrum
world famine the weight
on the verge of collapse

As a million stomachs grumbled

He hauled up his head
and he stared through his hair
and the western world silently waited

As a million stomachs grumbled

In quiet Irish brogue
his monotone mumblings
startled the hardest of hearts

As a million stomachs grumbled

A vision so vast
he reeled in compassion
and rivers of revenue flowed

As a million stomachs grumbled

His microphone soaked up
the sweat and the spittle
and lyrics of lunacy screamed

As a million stomachs grumbled

In death row defiance
and larynx on hold
two lines stopped the world

As a million stomachs grumbled

''The lesson today
is
how to die''

A MILLION TRUCKS OF GRAIN RUMBLED.

© Ellen Johns