there is still an urgency
for unqualified confidence
and bullish bravado
at the top
still a place for
recklessness
and ongoing denial
without reservation
caution
deliberation
ongoing opportunity
for
sustained uncompromised attacks on truth
that is welcomed
cheered
and honoured
as if carelessness
is our anointed
blessed
chosen pathway
until one sees the horror
in the mirror

of so much undigested History

First published by, ‘Militant Thistles’
http://militantthistles.moonfruit.com/geoffrey-aitken-poem/4594956897
edited by Alan Morrison, May 2020