I was just staggering in the gate <br />with two heavy bags <br />from an exhausting week’s conference <br />when the conman and his accomplice <br />got me right at my own front door – <br />I’m mortified by the memory – <br /> <br />they could replace my missing roof tiles <br />in a moment, look, the ladder’s <br />already up there, the accomplice <br />is halfway up, now he’s already <br />on the roof in his plimsolls, now he's <br />shaking the chimney-stack, look, it's loose <br />.... no cash? oh, <br />they’d drive me to the nearest cash-point… <br />well, you can guess the rest – <br />anything for a quiet life… <br /> <br />as I dozed off that evening, <br />flushed with anger, blushed with stupidity, <br />too tired to crawl to bed, <br />realizing that conmen have <br />all the skills of hypnotists, <br />enlightenment struck: <br /> <br />the next morning, I would wake up <br />150 dollars the poorer but morning-fresh; <br />‘they’ would wake up with the urgent need <br />to seek another mug each day. <br /> <br />And I realised that sublime, ruthless, <br />beautiful, tragic, comic, eternal justice <br />is - to be – to live it through as - <br />just as we are; right now… <br /> <br />heroes or victims of ourself <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />.<br /><br />Michael Shepherd<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/0311-eternal-justice/
