Be Prepared

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By Ewan

Tue, 29 Aug 2017
  • 3749 reads
14 comments
 

Pay attention, ladies and gentlemen,

this is not the naming of parts,

nor any practical use.

This is duck and cover

for the post-digital age

the dystopic result

of the childish rage

of tyrants.

 

Post Apocalypse Survivors Kit Mk. 1

There will not be a second version,

when the atomic cloud blacks out the sun.

In the flame-retardant, lead-lined case

each useless item has its place.

 

The gas mask

is not guaranteed against

every microbe borne

on the nuclear winter's wind.

 

This blister pack

contains placebos only:

take them, and chance to luck:

they could have been viagra

or anti-histamines.

 

Your compass will guide

you north, east, west or south,

and all degrees of separation

in between,

but not to safety.

 

This is duct tape,

sometimes known as duck tape.

It will stick to your fingers

but to nothing useful.

 

The whistle is useful

for attracting attention,

most of which will

prove unwanted.

 

In the thermos you may keep

hot drinks warm

and cold drinks cool,

but the water will poison you.

 

Ah, the rope, the rope.

Let us leave the rope

'til the end of hope.

 

Meals ready to eat,

MREs in military speak.

You have two packets

due to space limitations.

 

This watch has no battery

it is not self-winding:

you will have to be

awake, when it stops.

 

You have a torch

- and batteries.

It is your source of light

at least for a week

of winter nights.

 

Here is your first aid kit,

you will die of sepsis,

before you find anything

to close your cuts firmly.

 

The king of knives!

As issued to the Swiss Army

- neutral for centuries.

It has a tool to remove

something from the hoof

of the horse you have eaten.

 

 

This is a simple lighter

a zippo, filled with fuel.

While you have it,

you can burn things.

Perhaps wood,

perhaps furniture,

certainly what bridges are left.

 

Your final item is

the last great invention,

left to mankind.

A clockwork radio

to listen to The Buzzer

on the short wave,

long after the voices

fall silent.

 

Footnote: The Buzzer

Certificate U
Poem
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

grrr - I can only read your teaser if I go to 'new' on the website, but not if I access it from any other link. It doesn't usually matter but yours mostly do.

Anyway - this is perfectly pitched. What a way to go eh - destroyed in a battle between two giant toddlers with personality disorders and bad haircuts

 

Submitted by Ewan on

isn't it?

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by airyfairy on

By coincidence, I was listening to Barry McGuire's 'Eve of Destruction' earlier today (on compilation CD for ageing hippies).  It first came out in 1965.  About 30 years ago I remember thinking how dated it sounded.  And now, it doesn't.  Especially that line 'Hate your next door neighbour, but don't forget to say grace'.  Bloody sad.

Oh yes, sorry - brilliant poem, Ewan.

 

Submitted by Ewan on

record. If my second oldest brother and I get near a karaoke at the same time, we do that one. Unmissable and unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons, of course. Our other favourite is Zagar and Evans "In the Year 2525"... Luckily, we don't get together often.

We're both miserable bastards.

Ah, almost forgot, thanks for the compliment. wink

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by Ewan on

In keeping with their obsession with Eliot (and my own) I have quoted a Genesis Lyric, just as Gabriel used to quote Eliot and ape his classicly allusive modernism in everything from The Musical Box via The Cinema Show until Gabriel's own departure from the band.

See if you can spot it.

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Not the biggest Genesis expert, so it's a bit lost on this particular reader.  But Zager and Evans - now you're talking.  

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This brilliant poem is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day

Please share/retweet if you like it too!

 

 

Submitted by celticman on

a post-apocalypse watch would be good, but I want a whistle. 

 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

This planet needs a good mass extinction clear out, especially of naked apes. Hopefully the next species to evolve intelligence will actually BE intelligent.

 

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Poem of the Week - Congratulations!

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Where would you find a horse though?

On a program about food stashers lately the presenter asked an expert if he thought there could be a situation in Britain where supermarkets would be empty for weeks, and he said he thought it was very likely, within the next twenty years. And she asked if he had a food stash then, thinking he would. But he said no, because if a country like Britain had got to a state where supermarkets cannot get filled then food was really not going to help

politicians are fiddling while the future burns

 

Submitted by Stephen Thom on

Brilliant work. Brilliant structure. Very much enjoyed yes

 

Submitted by Parson Thru on

Late to this as usual, Ewan. Very droll piece. Fittingly so. I'm pushing impending Armageddon to the back of my mind. It bothered me more in the 80s, when it was less likely. Perhaps we deserve it. Interesting Karaoke choice. Only available at closing time.

Parson Thru

Submitted by Ewan on

to be honest I was MUCH less scared in the 1980's. This will probably tell you why. The stories were on ABCTales in a collection of the same name. The one which nails why I was less scared is "The Infinite Scope of Memory".

Thanks for reading. Drollery is the only response to foolishness at the highest levels.

Author Page at the 'Zon