Not in my Name

Not in my name
    the boiler clapped out
    no hot water
    to shower, to shave

Not in my name
    burnt toast
    no peanut butter
    dark clouds, rain

Not in my name
    what you didn’t even say
    when you came down
    too late, too soon

Not in my name
    politics, plastics
    junk food, Facebook
    COP-outs, COVID

Not in my name
    the deaf, the dumb, the blind
    the also-rans
    the lonely, the leaders, the liars, the losers

Not in my name
    history, horror
    murder, war, tyranny, terror
    exile, genocide

How, in my name
    this stupid hope
    this hard, unhappy joy
    which has no name?

Tom Vaughan


If you have any thoughts about this poem, Tom Vaughan    would be pleased to hear them