Nice to be a racist

It must be nice (in some ways) to be a racist
To be able to pin all your pains on a single thing
Ignore those worries that tend to persist
That some issues could be far deeper than skin

Never engaging in the nuance of culture
But somehow still taking the food you enjoy
Pick the bits you want like a vulture
Like a baby picking apart a toy

Yet insisting, still, without any irony
That things just work better here
While enjoying innovation and democracy
That didn't just magically appear

Not having to address the flaws in society
Because it's not corruption or anything - just race
It must be nice to engage in such fantasy
Well, as long as you never have to face:

The hurt you cause, often without realising
The friendships you miss, because you were despising
The richness and depth of all of humanity
Even new and colourful types of profanity

Yes, there are teething issues with integration
But to think that's the main issue facing the nation?
It must be nice, to tell an easy lie about humanity
The rest of us? We're out here facing reality

Todo list

It's not a huge difference
I don't think I'm smiling much more
Or tangible richer inside
But I did get through a fair bit of my todo list
    and that's something

I got the shoe rack I'd thought about getting a while ago
And some extra shelves
I sorted the wifi
And my gym membership too

I read more of my book
And put some pictures on the walls
Gave the flat a good clean
Even the tough bits

I wrote a new poem
There's always a new poem to write
I tried learning a new one
Though it took me a while this time

A new list has already started
And I'll get to it soon
For now I'm appreciating
Having a little less to do

god of letters

Have you heard of the god of letters?
You should write to them some time
Ask for a blessing to make your writing better
And keep your words in their prime

They grant safe passage across the papery planes
So the words may wonder o'er the world
A stamp and an address and a prayer in their name
And one day someone will see your letter unfurled

But have you ever talked to the god of letters?
They don't share much - but they know every word
The serve as ultimate emotional debtor
Carrying all the tears and anger they've heard

Oh, and the stories. Such stories they could tell.
Stories that will vanish to history
Truth and fiction and everything else as well
The answer to many an unsolved mystery

A reader for every word of yours and mine
Even on the paper the dog has bitten
So pick up a pen and drop a line
To add to the oeuvre of every letter ever written
 

Neutral spaces

The world is full of vindictive faces
Seeking retribution in all kinds of spaces
And, well, sometimes retribution is justified

It is important to be consistent in philosophy
To speak out against injustice without apology
Yet also to have a place where apologies can be realised

Neutral spaces should probably not be the norm
So that we can pretend no conflict is the default form
But they should still exist

Because we need to share some culture and art
Lest we become a fully separate and torn apart
With no reason for peace to persist

Neutral is not apolitical, and should not be confused for such
Yet neutral spaces can be important, where we can all share in much
Just make sure you don't do it for avarice
Or just to avoid conflict in cowardice
But acknowledge the reason for the neutrality
And you will create a space to bridge humanity

Believe in lies

Hey. Hey you.
Let's believe in some lies together.

I want to believe that we will be able to fight global warming.
That we can put an end to sexism
That it's possible to find time for a good book when things are stressful
That we can find all the answers to faith
That we can build a better world
And that true love exists.

Wait, what's that?
Some of those aren't lies?

Well, you may be right.
But they're hard to believe in sometimes

Hey. Let's believe in them anyway.
And if we believe in them hard enough

Maybe they'll turn out to be true

Aesthetics

You want the aesthetics, without acknowledging the origins
You want to be good looking without putting the work in
What's the issue, it's just colour and patterns
Yeah, but they're formed from philosophies and passions

So, before going any further, let me state my thesis
All of design is subject to hysteresis
Which means it doesn't just exist in the here and now
This can seem theoretical, so let me explain how

A loving collage of pins piercings and junk
More than just music, there's the world of punk
It's not just "rebellion" in a marketable form
It's a sign of a world where resistance is born

Punk isn't comfortable, it's anger and rage
Captured in vocal fry and a dirty journal page
So if you want to dress punk, it's good to know
About the feelings that go along with the 'fro

Similarly, I have a love for Hayao Miyazaki
From studio Ghibli, father of Totoro and Kiki
So much care in each animation cell
Shared within every story as well

I'm sure he'd be thrilled, if you were to draw his creation, 
But far less so if you resorted to AI generation
You've not worked as he did, but wanted the feeling
That made that style seem so welcome and appealing

Look, styles change. Anyone can wear or draw anything.
I'm not saying you have to research every note before you sing.
But it's not only enriching, but respectful to the creator
To research an aesthetic before you become an imitator

If you like an aesthetic, acknowledge the origin
Know why it means so much before you add your spin
Combine it all with your own philosophy and passion
And find an honest place in the world of fashion

A rush of confidence

It's not that I feel unstoppable
Like I can't fail, like I can't fall
It's just that, when supported I feel able
To give a try to anything at all

And if I do falter in my steps
I will find supports by my side
There will be no regrets
Just a gladness for having tried

The depths may be deep
But I will not be left alone
There's a hope I will keep
For those only separated by phone

It turns out, all the confidence you will ever need
Comes from friends who want you to succeed

***

A little love letter to Hi-Fi Rush, written to my favourite song of the soundtrack: Whirring by The Joy Formidable

Nephilim

Oh Nephilim, you giants of the ancient world
Who stood above the heads of all the rest
Physical stature that unfurled
To make them seem like the very best

You fallen ones, once sons Godly
Now lie near-forgotten in the dirt
Just some words in scripture's body
For your figure, descriptively curt

So we do not know if your height was real
Or simply rhetoric for fragile men
Whether you walked with mighty heel
Is now all but forgotten

It is comforting, if sad, that time will erase us all
All we are and have ever been
Save for maybe a word of our fall
Like that of the once mighty Nephilim

If the world does end

 If the world does end
I hope we get a chance to say goodbye
To embrace those close to us
And share a final meal together

If the world does end
I hope there's a chance to say a prayer
Try to come to terms with what will happen
And make up our minds, at last

Mostly, I hope the world doesn't end
But if it does, I hope there's a chance
However brief
For us
In our final moments
To show our humanity, once more

Mind on repeat

An assault of thoughts
Within your own mind
No escape
No exit to find

You normally distract so easily
So why not now
Such arrogance
That you can think your way through this somehow

Thought. Thought. Thought again.
Brain on repeat.
Thought. Thought. Thought again.
Give in to defeat.

The solution? 
Force yourself into the world
Make your brain process new information
See friends
Absorb art
Create art

You will notice the thought by its absence.

Those that control us

Sir? 

 Yes private? 

It's the people, sir. They're doing nothing, sir

 Nothing private? What's the problem with that private? 

They're doing literally nothing, sir

Managing to ignore their algorithm, sir

The one designed to seize their mind

To make them angry at things that don't matter, sir

Instead, they're reflecting and praying, sir

Meditating and staying still, sir

Remembering how to think for themselves

How to not react to every thing, sir

Their neurochemistry is resetting, sir 

Their grey matter is rewiring, sir 

They're remembering they aren't their algorithm

And we need to do something about it, sir 

 Ah, well, can't do nothing private. 

Yes, sir

Very good, sir

I'll see to it, sir 

Just after I've watched this video, sir

***

Written at Wildfires 2026

Unearned love

In all the worlds below and all the world above
There is no greater gift than unearned love

Love. That which supports our very soul
Which lifts us up and makes us whole 
Which heals the wounds that cut our core
And makes us wonder how we coped before

With this gift, you will see life anew
No longer does the whole world stand against you
Finally, after all you've tried and tried and tried
Someone loving is on your side

The only condition, through time and space
Is to accept this gift of love with grace

***

Written at Wildfires 2026

Running on Empty

I'm stretched, depleted, but not yet defeated
I'm the last little light that they haven't deleted
I'm running on fumes but not yet empty
The last gasps of a flame that still shines plenty

So imagine what I could do with a bit more fuel
Imagine how bright I'll burn when I'm a bit more full
With more oil in a lamp to light a way
I'm asking for energy so lord I pray

I'll keep on the spark with whatever I have
I'll do what I can to make you glad
But give me more, if you deem it right
And I'll try to burn right through the night

***

Written at Wildfires 2026

Natural Inspiration

The more I learn about engineering
The more I realise we're just doing our best to copy nature
From neural network to polymer silk
The world is a guide on our adventure

And I'm not saying it's everything.
I've yet to see a naturally occurring nuclear plant.
But it's more than you might think
Guiding your world since you were an infant.

It's not that engineers aren't smart enough to think up our own ideas.
We're just smart enough not to ignore the obvious inspiration.
Nature has had many years to solve it's problems.
So lets save ourselves some perspiration.

So don't be too cocky, thinking we've grown beyond needing nature to strive.
Nature will always be a source of inspiration. And, well, also a source of what keeps us alive.
       That bit's important too.

Overheat

It doesn't matter how strongminded you may be
You will still start to collapse in the heat
If you're unable to find shade then your philosophy
Will run up against an automatic defeat

Oh, smart young boy with will of iron
How easily you are brought low!
Your efficient machine with a fire in
Has been stoked by too much bellow

Now is not the time for action
Except action to stay hydrated
You may thirst for new ideological faction
Only once your actual thirst has been sated

We are, all of us, mere chemicals and biology with a little bit of spark
We all are victims of our surroundings, and need both light and dark
You are your body just as much as you are your thought
Do not overestimate yourself, a miracle who needs support

Supporting art

I enjoy analysing art
Not just because I learn more about the art and the artist
But because I learn more about myself

Art with no creator
Feels hollow

I want to learn about the choices we make
How our decisions
Make us become different people

I want to reflect
To see my own shape

So let me stay genuine
Supporting the arts to exist
And stay interesting

Fellow fixers

This might be a broken world
But it's the only one we've got
So rise up fellow fixers, 
And give it all you've got

I can't promise success
That we get it in one piece
But we can heal a crack or two
Make some hurting cease

So rise up fellow fixers
Even when things seem tough
The list goes on and on
We may never do "enough"

But one day we'll look back
At all that we have done
Grateful for the work
We almost never begun

Being aware

We can hear each other now, but it didn't used to be this way
See on this little ball of rock within the milky way
We've climbed up all the mountains and we've sailed across the ocean
We've lain the lines of sparks that keep the world in motion

So now we hear the words in languages not our own
The tales of the leaders who may soon be overthrown 
We can hear two sides to the story, not just the ruling class
The truth is waiting for us, we only have to ask.  

No longer can propaganda rule us just through fear
The calls for help are out there, for as long as we to choose to hear

Redemption worthy

We all love a redemption story, and yet we can only stomach so much sin 
You have to be careful with how flawed you are to begin
Otherwise we judge, we view you as simply "bad"
Not worthy of the forgiveness the rest of us have had 

Humans are not a crafted narrative, falling in 3 acts 
We're simply trying to live, and hopefully not collapse
We take 3 steps left for each step back, moving forward once in a while
Even when the focus is on us, we rarely move in style

Find the family that believes, and the friends to follow through
We need support and structure, so you can define yourself anew
It doesn't have to be a clean or well written story
Just a realisation you are no longer who you used to be

Steroid sports

"They should let the athletes go on steroids"
Seems to always come from a particular type of folk
Often personally defensive and paranoid
Yet claims that you can't take a joke

Saying not as an aside or a stray idea
But something they really feel
So earnestly that I tend to fear
They don't think the athletes are real

Steroids harm your health. You know that right?
It's short term gain for long term loss.
You want a flame that already shines so bright
To explode. For them that's a fair cost.

I don't claim to have competed right at the top
But I have been close enough to witness
The barriers that would make a normal person stop
The pain towards trying to reach peak fitness

Try their regime for just a week, maybe just a day
And realise it's a human in those shoes
Yes there is joy and glory that make them that way
But it's still a tough life to chose

So, if after all that, you think it's not enough
It's worth the health of a human for a higher score
I think the issue is that you're just fake tough
Jealous of those that get to achieve more