the power to

by Antoniy T. Georgiev

The sight of the lone delivery guy
With his duct-taped scooter
And his overused, single use surgical face mask
Still trying to deliver his order
Amidst the unfolding apocalypse
Still trying to satisfy
His merciless algorithm master
Was as ridiculous as a
looney tunes cartoon
only without the humour
So total was his enslavement
Not even the end of the world
Could shake his slumber

If only he knew
that inside the palm of his hand
was hidden all the power
All the power to change
All the power to fight back
All the power to shoot out
of the sky
their phony billionaire rockets
as they attempted to escape the hell
that they created

All the power needed
to hold the very ground together
and not let it break asunder
All the power needed
to reclaim this time
to take back the clock
and steer it away from disaster
All the power needed
to change the very course of history

if only he knew that he had that power
as did all his fellow brothers and sisters
if only they knew, they had all that power

Cheap flights, cheap hands, cheap lives

by Antoniy T. Georgiev

They pour into the West
Cheap flights, cheap hands, cheap lives
They wear the paint of the oppressors
Yet share the faith of the oppressed
Their fathers and mothers were once told
They were building socialism
Now they are told
To pick asparagus and berries
Sort parcels and haul bricks
Clean floors and scrub toilets

Their bosses like them
They say ‘You never complain’
About the minimum wage
The twelve-hour day
The disgusting abuse at full display
The ruined back that will forever stay

At home their politicians grin gleefully
Smiles full of gluttony and savagery
In between sips of champagne
They proudly say
‘At last, we are Europeans!’
As they sell their people abroad
And all the while
Economists and journalists, thieves and liars
Reach down to pat
Their obedient eastern brothers
And softly tell them
‘Now you are free,
thanks to capitalism and democracy,
free from the communist tyranny’
Ah yes, free
Free to be Western Europe’s new colony
Cheap flights, cheap hands, cheap lives

The image above is 'A Poem Falls to Earth' by David Hugh Lockett