POETRY - PHILOSOPHY


Phoenix from the Street

Destined to awake in isolation & conflict, a warrior from the cradle without respite,
A fragmented family diaspora son, genetically a foreigner, far from home.
Twin dual cultural antecedents, colonial divisive hotspots of rebellion,
A victim of sociological discrimination, on the street, in the playground & work place.
A recipient of brutish, animalistic violence, in the home by Neanderthal stepfather,
Son to a dictatorial & manipulative mother, a lesson in control & possession.
An individual forced to leadership, by group envy, jealousy & bullying,
A supreme sportsman in every genre, a champion footballer in sixties England.
A natural prodigy chess player, legacy of colonial inheritance,
So body & mind of the first order, in early preparation for survival.
A grammar school boy of excellence, disaffected by teachers & family,
Roots skinhead warrior in tribal hooliganism, an outlet for home anger & frustration.
Denied opportunity for professional vocation, broken hearted by blacklisting victimization,
A home of violence & madness, an early exit the only option.
On the street in hippy Southampton, bustling nautical Dodge City,
Peace & companionship in drugs euphoria, oblivious to pain & self-destruction.
Sex , drugs & rock ‘n’ roll escapism, full on hedonistic excitement
And so the descent into Hades, the neo-underworld continued,
Until one day the brick wall & borstal boy education.
Institutionalised violence on a frenetic, helter skelter regime ride
Fear trip London style instruction, fast, furious & extremely violent,
Only one viable possibility, attack & immediate ascension boss.
A thorough & intense education in survival, street, institution & home,
At an emotional price of anger, frustration, unhappiness & isolation.
With the perspective that violence is the tool & solution to all problems,
In this apparent continual darkness, there have been some beacons of Light,
Like the early love of a cockney guardian, whose accent still echoes through me today.
The later old boat building ex-spook, eastern traveled friend, guardian & guru,
The school football teacher now knighted, fan ,coach & continued friend.
A biker & consort of Hells Angels, hedonistic kamikaze seeker of excitement,
An ‘aufweidersehen pet’ working traveler, construction worker & nightly reveler.
A Stonehenge convoy consort & guardian, companion & elder statesman,
So a wet wintry evening excursion, that ended in a skidding demobilizing hospitalization,
Was a momentary taster glimpse of the reaper, before escaping leap to fractured rest & pause for reflection.
Exactly one year to the day, a roots journey to the land of unknown missing father,
An instant restoration of pride & consequent reunion with unwitting patriarch.
Thus began the road of self-discovery, from a life of subconscious self-destruction,
To one of studious training on all levels, to become a teaching purveyor of Light.
So now all focus is forward, retrospective reflection only for understanding & knowledge.
In the face of adversity, one should be gratified, for the opportunity to acquire wisdom.