Here’s the villain
there’s the victim

and who am I
for casting them?

I’m a villein
tenant subject

to the force
for land, horse, rotten

and a Danish with coffee
on the pantry’s floor

crumbs for
the cleaning crew of three

dare I write ‘lady’
to clean up after hours

or shuffle it under
the water dispenser

as if a legionella leaf
of a wintering tree

infested with legionnaires disease
Tree, water, three: who cares

or so I imagine after holidays
weekends, personal days, or vacation

or economic layoffs
and boardroom affairs

we cast a role
cast a cast, cast off

for castles, king
for sand, and land

as workers work at
rollin’ the sea with grains

We’re the victimized
villain’d villein

victory reversed
three downward folded

fingers as cursed
crumbs for thirst

—animasuri’24

—-
Trigger

Marsan, E. (2024, April 16, 05:06 local time). IN: Stephen Sackur, S. BBC News World Service . HARDtalk. Eddie Marsan: Do the arts neglect working-class people? Retrieved on 16 April 2024 from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5szc