Is there nothing left

Is there nothing left

But a tide mark

A life of grime

An unwashed towel

On a broken rack

Too many people died here

Trying to pretend

It was worth the effort

Of climbing out of the swamp

When their backs

Were stepping stones

For the jackboot

Forgotten footnotes

Of history

It is not a special place

There is no particular

Reason to recall

The image from

Long term storage

Just a room in a lodging house

For itinerant workers

Two weeks of the year

For the student

A lifestyle choice for

A child with a conscience

A phase in their development

Not an easy trap to escape

For the less needy

A full stop

For the hopeless

Broken dreamers

Crimped blackbirds

Press ganged

Prisoners

Of the faithless

The unknown slavers

Of modernity

Demand a sacrifice

Those who are about to die

Will never be saluted

Build a life from a flat pack

Scrape the barrel dry

It is the only source

Of comfort

In the back of a truck

A caravan in a farmyard

Is not a romantic holiday

A standpipe is not

A convenience

Bare necessity

Is more than another

Pious misperception

The gangmaster

Is an old profession

He was a Roman soldier

A camp commander

He trains boys

In the art of dying

And never stops trying

To make ends meet

When the gap between

Life and death

Is just a breath away.Did you think of me

See my face

The expression in my eyes

The widening of surprise

My lips quivering in

A brief half smile

Of recognition

How did it feel

To watch me fall

Broken dreams

Tumbling out

A confusing exposure

To litter the floor

Blood red lipstick

How did you miss

Standing in the mess

As you swept by

Indifference is the end

Of things

Was I ever real to you

Am I an object now

A lesson to be learned

If you care to listen

To the words outside

Of your own head

Psychopathy

Is impenetrable

Without a key

Perhaps you have

Forgotten the combination

And are trapped

On the inside

Out of reach

Too late for me

To pull you out

As I feel uncoordinated

A little disconnected

Did you think about

The aftermath

Is there anybody

Left in there

Hiding in your shadow

If there is

Any substance

It is likely to be me.