Nobody notices an old fella

Nobody notices an old fella

Unless he is really making

A nuisance of himself.

Is that why

Old white guys shout the loudest

Determined to be heard

Whether they have anything to say or not.

Damn, they are always so sure

They have a right to an opinion

Not satisfied that they

(When I say they

I mean thee and me)

Stole the blues

And sold it back, painted black.

They try to be rap artists now

How can that ever be

When the whole point is

That it was a kind of street poetry

Not written for the likes of me.

But it was a choice

My privilege gave me a voice.

I like beat poetry

Nobody listens to that anymore

Did they ever?

Or did the people who invented chic

Just think it was really cool

To sit around in the dark smoking dope

Whilst sticking it to some man or other,

Brother.

Now there is no hope it is a social disgrace,

The bain of society,

To be a junky

Unless it is an expensive habit

Such as cigars and malt whisky

Cocaine makes you frisky

So they say.

But nobody notices an old fella

It is something to do with childbearing,

Futureproofing the animal in all of us

Even the sophisticates

Who practise safe sex using meditation

Celebrate being celibate

Because it makes them feel less rejected

When they are just misogynists

At heart.

There will always be outliers

But you have to be young to be a rebel

With or without a cause

Is Gill Scott Heron really dead?

How did that happen

If he had been more dedicated

To popular success,

Broadened his appeal

He might have been more celebrated

At least he won’t hear some

Red-necked white guy,

Bemoaning the loss of his privilege,

Say

“The revolution will not be televised”

As they lock and load

Block a public road

With their gas-guzzling monster trucks

Cocking a snook at the environment

Which is all just a hoax

To the good ole’ folks who don’t even know who he was

But believe they do know

The truths of the world

Hiding in plain sight,

Disguised as conspiracy theories

Alternate realities

Controlled by deep-stated lounge lizards

Which seems like a revelation

If it is true

God only knows why they believe

They will be the only ones to survive

When the reckoning comes,

Whatever that may be

Because if God is on their side

What will that mean for me

And all the other people

Who believe in a just society

And not some outdated notion

Of white-male domination

The supremacy of one nation

Under god

When as far as I can see

Intolerance is a blight

On the progress of humanity

And if there is anything

I cannot stand

It is intolerance