Awake

(Written in response to Labour's election campaign May/June 2017)

When we wake up

the sun that now trickles shyly through the

gap in the curtains, blushing at its boldness, will

beam through bright, solid and oozing liquid light,

a golden lightsaber and we'll wield it

for The Good Side.

When we are born

from our crusty dull cocoons which are already

splitting and cracking and begging to be

cast off, flakes of shell will burst like bullets 

from our fleshy colourful bodies with

butterfly wings of steel.

When we march

we will swarm out of every house

ants joining the ranks, morphing and multiplying

throughout the land, we will occupy every corner,

peninsulas to rocky shores, city fogs to mountaintops

the earth drumming along.

When we scream

the sound will combine the screech of all the animals,

the fox's squeal, the robin's melody, the dog's rumble

and the sound will leak out of our skin like sweat

dripping and shining with our collective cry

we will be heard.

This is the time.

this selfie-taking, dab-dancing, tweet-trolling time,

We can rise like a flood of humanity, we can

Drown the doubters, surf atop a wave of empathy so 

Clamp your eyelids open, kick off your shell, boot your feet 

Wake up, wake up, wake up.