I sat in the cafe as I had when a boy.

Sitting as if I'd see the world as I did back then,

When the steam from my tea cup 

snatched a rainbow from the window light

It seemed the world was full of colour 

But, now the cafe was derelict, charcoaled.

The window lay in shards & fragments 

The colours of the rainbow, repelling 

There was rot in the architecture 

of both ...

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Not so infamous as ‘81

when Liverpool went feral

and anger blazed for nine whole days,

the riot of ‘85 arose

in Toxteth when someone

was stabbed and four men’s freedom hung in peril.

I didn’t know that then, although I was 

stranded in the middle

thinking “What the fuckin’ fuck?!!”

In ‘85 there was a lack

of means to know the cause.

We had no internet to solve...

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TRIGGER WARNING: contains profanity and quoted use of racist language

What Have You Got?

What have you got

When you haven’t got a tweet

That will work on the masses

And keep them off the street

When your corrupt policies

Are all laid bare

And the people are as unruly

As your fake blonde hair

What have you got

When it all goes South

In pillow case ...

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Kneel

I saw a young man kneel today

He hung his head as if to pray

But he would take a life away

To honour and protect they say

Another black man has to die

Before the country questions why

They let enforcers kill and lie

and let another mother cry

Fear and hate mix with malice

A city faces the abyss

A cocktail of vinegar and piss

On the streets o...

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August spawned a raging storm

four nights we watched our TV burn

we wrung our hands in shock and shame

then looked for someone else to blame

gazing over the fresh grown rubble,

the long term surplus of borrowed trouble

it begs a question with which we must wrestle.

if it’s only the threat of burning petrol

that makes the truth of now more palpable

...

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I was recently asked to write and perform a poem about The August Riots of the UK for a 'Fight Back Debate' in which the young people of Bolton discussed their opposition to both the criminal acts of the young people involved, and the media's focus on youth involvement to the extent that young people have been misrepresented.

This link contains a video of my performance:http://www.thebolto...

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