Out of the Picture

Death is at the Pic’n’ mix again

Chosing its colours carefully in El Paso,

But elsewhere it draws equally on the

great and commonplace,

The child that is fair of face,

The women in the backrow ‘Syrian embrace’

(Love from President Putin)

It collects the goodies from

The motorways,

The very old and their funny ways,

The callow youth in his salad days,

The young girl on whom

The rapist preys.

It smells so sweet now,

From all that it has taken,

But it can only watch,

For death , by life

And joy and painful love

Will always be left, forsaken.

© Bernard Pearson