MAN FOR HIS AGE
Care-worn he leads
his guilt free life,
turns fears
into a bar-room joke –
he never fails
though sometimes falls
a victim to
“the changing times”.
Suburban heroes never weep,
they share with celluloid
an inability to bleed.
He veils his sorrows in
a sentimental song
and never sins –
his standards are complete
and up to date.
A true son
of a dying race.
Malcolm Evison
Nightscape with Rainfall
The rudiments of fear
trace each step;
the hollow echoes
dampered by the rain.
Haunted by absences -
the lack
of any company
to take the chill away -
a sudden surge
of cowardice betrays
his vanity.
The rudiments of fear
trace each step,
the hollow echo
silenced by the rain.
The last bedraggled remnant
of false pride
lies submerged
in his timid haste.
