After Wallace Stevens
I
Blackbird's pandemic days.
Broke her in two.
All those lock-down days.
With no school.
II
Blackbird crushed at work.
Low paid, unsafe apprenticeship.
His GP says there is no such thing
As painkillers
III
Blackbird has no internet.
No computer.
Her parents can’t afford college.
Can’t afford to keep her.
IV
Blackbird had to leave
When they closed her refuge.
Can't afford food or heating.
Her bairn cries all night long.
V
Blackbird tried to kill himself.
Forced into a job.
He wasn't fit for.
No access to mental health therapy.
VI
Blackbird's mum cleans his room.
Tuesday and Wednesday.
He can't speak to her.
Can’t speak to anyone.
VII
Blackbird lost his benefit.
Sanctioned because he missed
One phone appointment.
He was at the emergency dentist.
VIII
Blackbird hasn’t been to school
Since she was thirteen.
Excluded from a zero tolerant classroom.
Not enough support. Not enough staff.
IX
Blackbird is skipping
The age verification
On her mobile phone
Using Mum’s credit card.
X
Blackbird downloads apps.
Oblivious to the content.
That the boy she is texting.
Is not a boy, he is a scummy man.
XI
Blackbird walks the streets.
Hands her CV into shops.
No-one is hiring, people with no skills.
People like her, with unwashed hair.
XII
Blackbird's money runs dry.
He can't heat his hostel room.
He doesn’t get his benefit
For six more weeks.
XIII
Blackbird is caught on a wire.
His wings clipped.
By bureaucratic systematic failure.
By Government cost cutting.
Dressed up as support in white paper.
Rachel Burns
