Four Poems by John D Robinson

 

EMPLOYMENT CREDENTIALS

 

‘Wait! there’s got to be

another way!’

but if you were the 12

or 13-year-old boy with

an angelic voice, from a

poverty stricken Italian

family in the 17^th century,

there may not have

been another way!

but

quite often, these

singers were treated

like today’s rock stars

and became very

wealthy, aiding their

families and friends,

living a life of

comfort, for the price

of their testicles:

‘Thanks mum, dad’

Castrato operations

were, thankfully,

finally,

banned in 1870.

 

 

PROLONGED

 

His biological mother was in

long term prison for her part

in a murder: father and the

young son of 6, seemed

happy and they made a

good world together:

then the father met another

woman, who moved in

with the father and son

within a few weeks and the

little boy’s world was

brutally and viciously

broken: she would insult

him constantly, order

him to stand in a certain

place for hours at a time,

make him watch her and

his father eat their

take-away meals: the

little boy, was barely fed,

and then, mostly, only

scraps but the beatings

with kicks and punches

from his father and the

woman were frequent

and when they killed

the little boy, they

stopped the torture:

initially the couple stated

that the boy had fallen

down a flight of

concrete stairs but the 91

separate injuries all

over his body, had

been inflicted over a

prolonged period of time:

both vile, sadistic adults

were sentenced to life:

the funeral of the young

boy was attended by

hundreds of mourners,

strangers, mostly.

 

 

MAKING DISTANCE

 

Of course, I should have

backed-away,

made distance,

I didn’t,

she died young of

narcotics, of violence,

betrayal, regrets, of a

savage harshness

that too many of us

know of:

she was strong,

even when she

knew death was

on her shoulders:

our interaction

although brief,

is still here,

particularly,

that time when we

kissed and

embraced

and then,

suddenly,

let go,

making that

distance,

as we should

have done,

knowing then,

we had

broken all

the rules.

 

 

SUSIE’S STORY

 

Susie was a sexual

‘pass-the parcel’,

Bob liked to think

of himself as her

protector and pimp:

Karl loved her and

wanted to marry her:

Bob fed her drugs

took monetary

 ‘bookings’ from

creeps to satisfy

their warped

perversions:

Karl was always

close by, at times

witnessing the

abuse:

Bob vanished when

the police became

interested:

Karl committed

suicide

and Susie became

hollow, see-

through, she became

mute,

but,

but, her eyes,

even Diablo

dare not look

into those.

John D Robinson is a UK poet: hundreds of his poems have appeared in print and online: he has published several chapbooks and four full collections of poetry: He is a multiple Pushcart Prize Nominee.