TEARS ARE CHEAP
One of His Majesty’s Ministers breaks down
in tears uncontrollably in a makeshift
tent in the scrublands of Chad near the border
with Darfur. Millions of women and children –
the men dead or in hiding – are on the move
again in their multi-coloured robes,
hoping again to escape hunger
and molestation, the greed and havoc of
post-imperial wars. There to promote
the good deeds of HMG, the Minister –
without the protection of suit and tie,
and the gentlemen’s club procedures
of the House of Commons, without the bombast
of office, the fustian oratory
of the pretence of power – is reduced
to a human being.
David Press
January 3, 2025I like this powerful poem with its strong contrasting images of the hunger and havoc in the scrublands, the multicoloured robes and the conventions of clothes and customs of the commons. But I wonder whether ‘returned to a human being’ would be more apposite than ‘reduced’? I also struggled with the title: in this context, aren’t tears human rather than cheap?
David Selzer
January 3, 2025Thank you for the thoughtful comment, David. In both the title and the use of the word ‘reduced’ I was aiming for irony. Your scepticism suggests I’ve missed that target.
David Press
January 3, 2025You missed it with me, but maybe not with others?
I also read this poem alongside the others you published this month and that may have coloured my reading!