Qualified
Down gum-dappled streets we go
hand-in-hand and side-by-side,
each knowing how the other’s lied
but still as lovers, even so.
To hell with what one feels inside:
what matters is the outward show
accepting life was always
so
as down the Vauxhall streets we glide
colluding in this daily show.
We’ve learnt what lurks within to hide
and down the watching streets to glide,
our suffering incognito –
the world is made for those who hide
the inner bruise left by the blow
while they stroll down streets incognito
for happiness thus qualified.
Tom
Vaughan
If you have any thoughts about this poem, Tom
Vaughan would like to hear them.
