THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?"

CATCH 23

We gather in cities for support

Slums and low rent areas allow art

to foster via benign neglect

Factory walls sport graffiti

Interiors become Art Galleries

Cheap housing is sometimes deliberate

Benign factory bosses building  19th century "workman's cottages"

(which now sell for a million dollars)

When high intensity inner urban areas are "gentrified"

they are cleared of indigenous,homeless,unemployed

who can no longer afford raised rents or housing taxes.

And we are all getting older.Habitats are threatened.

Poorer folk move to the country-but they then have travel costs

And rents rise everywhere eventually.We gather because we need each other

We divide because we cannot afford to live together.