19 February 2025
25 February 2025

was the son of a preacher man

are you woke and weaponised? do you know
the sun will fail one day but no day soon?
does your head float in clouds of pulchritude?

do you suck plastic as you splat the moon
with bruises you do not mean to put there?
then turn your head and watch your glaring screen

and trust dumb luck the message there is true
because your fate depends on it and you
could sadly be mistaken and the world

including children and a quadrillion
other living things for millenia
could fail to thrive, to live, to ever be

and that is your responsibility

The title of this poem comes from the refrain of the song made famous by Dusty Springfield ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ © John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins.