Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Stars Amongst The Gloom

Stars Amongst The Gloom



Just another boy who hates things

Striding without purpose, into the heart of our town

A down-trodden denizen of Hastings

With special brew in his hand, and a long-learned frown


To his mother a misunderstood hero

In a world beset by urban decay

To the papers, a social menace;

A benefit fraud; a church-starved stray,

To his mates jack-the-lad, a diamond kid,

A party animal always ready to play,

To himself an elusive phantom…

A ghost, just finding his way.


As he strides into town though none of that matters

It’s Saturday night – leave the philosophy at home

But as he hits the club, his composure shatters

‘Cause his girl’s kissing his dealer and suddenly he’s alone



And then his fists start flying with sickening speed

No thoughts of consequences or how he might plead

Just a perversely sweet oblivion, an ecstasy of revenge


He picked the wrong target though, that dealers got friends

And no one saw our boy again.


To his mother, a source of endless pain

To the papers a story for profit gain

To his mates a tragic reason to pray

To himself an elusive phantom

A ghost, just finding his way.


This is all we’d normally see of the story

The sad surface angles of inescapable doom

But his life had some beauty and a humble glory

There were stars amongst the gloom


…A fact not captured by any home-office tally:

That boy found joy in The Hastings Arms

And confused young love in Bottle Alley.

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