HELL

Once again I am trying to sleep

And failing to rest

As another loud party

Spills on to the street.

Ugly shrieks of women

Hideous laughter of men

Inspired by alcohol

And who knows what else.

If I complained

It would achieve nothing.

I’d seem a puritan

Or much, much worse.

And there is no

Argument with fools.

So there can be no

Discussion with drunks.

How do I know

If the women are safe?

How do I know

If children are at risk?

Such a sadness

Overwhelms me

On nights like this.

What has become

Of my nation?

Where is the culture

My father fought

To preserve?

When did such tyrants

Conquer our land?

Why do I feel foreign

Washed up on dry sand?

Who is to blame?

Is it my fault?

Then let me die

Before they kill me.