Protestations To The Contrary

But I tell you I have control
Autonomy, freedom, choice – not
Bound
Here is the proof of it - I hold it
Here, in my hand
See it? Feel it?
Wood or rope or steel or flesh
Thrust, swing, squeeze, pull, or tighten, jerk
Now do you see?
Now do you feel?
No?

But tell you I rise above
I stand alone, stolid, individual,
The alpha never omega - don’t dare
Suggest mu to me
I’ll not be cowed by such – banality
That isn’t leather
See? Canines! Incisors! No false hoods
Or teeth here
Snap, chomp, nip or bite, suck
Chewing bullets like cud
Now do you see?
Now do you feel?
No?

But I tell you I have power
Authority, decision, command, no
Delusion. I know the truth of it – I see it
Up there, see?
See it? Hear it?
Writ up there large as legend, not
Myth, fantasy, dream, fable
From inside the borders of a cinema screen
Ruler, leader, warrior, king, no, criminal
Or gangster, just defence
What is not true I’ll make so
I believe it
Now do you see?
Now do you hear?
No?

But I tell you I am different
Unique, singular, exotic – nothing
Average. I speak the facts of it – I say it
Is unknown to me to be
Like anyone else.
See it? Realise it?
Not just one of the many, I will be heard – not
A sheep. Bah! Don’t think I can be
Constrained or restrained by the fancies
Opinion, trend, obsession, or fashion
Victim. I am this way in spite
Not because everyone else says
Now do you see it?
Now do you realise it?
No?

But I tell you I deserve respect
Adulation, desire, admiration, not
Ignorance – I claim it
See it? Know it?
By word, by deed, by ownership, by skill – not
Simple declaration and longevity. My word
Carries weight. There’s no bud in my barrel!
It’s my right! There is a revolutionary
Inside me.
Rebel, insurgent, dissident, agitator – no
Activist wannabe, me. But it pays to
Revere me for my
Power, control, difference, not
Just my words – words that burn with
Such truth to bring
Immolation, conflagration – a veritable pyre
How’s that for carbon neutral, you
Fuck?

No?