What’s this about? It has an Orwellian feel. We know that the thought police are never the nice guys, so the narrator’s revision doesn’t convince, despite – or more probably because of – the repeat of “perfectly lovable”. Shaw often plays with the surreal and the surprising, and her work is often funny (“cataloguing abilities”) but this is much more than a quirky, amusing poem. It’s dark. It’s a warning. It’s doing exactly what poetry is supposed to do.
The Friday Poem on 18/10/2024
Not my children, not my rats
I have revised my views on the thought police:
actually, they are perfectly lovable guys,
perfectly lovable guys just trying
to do their best; not everyone
has the patience or cataloguing abilities
for this challenging work, particularly
during dark times when it is a difficult job
to see even vaguely what is going on. I have always been quick
to judge; now I realise it is a real luxury
that qualified people are here to do the heavy lifting.
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While driving to Ikea for a laundry basket
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Lessons in The Method, #23
by Martin Jago — The day you stop me on campus, Benjamin, / Bible in hand, asking if I believe and I respond, // pointing to the building I’m walking towards …
“Party” as Both Verb and Moral Imperative
by Katherine Meehan — This is a peace my lovelies, you are a goddess / and you are a goddess and YOU are a goddess— / I love you …