(For Graeme Dixon)
He started writing poetry in jail
Satire, lament, shaggy-dog tales
Read the one about wanting freedom
Faceless figures with rifles, fearsome
Like the images you sort and stow
Neatly cut out, set out in a row
Read the one about becoming sane
Put down the pen, put aside the pain
Read the one about shameful regrets
Sponsored by lung cancer cigarettes
Read the poem he writes as another
A country girl at heart, a sweet mother
Stay awhile, away from prying eyes
There’s beauty, plenty you’d recognise
Read the one about becoming sane
Put the pen down, take it up again
