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Thursday 3 July 2008
The rhyme against hate crime
Bolstered in his cause
by
several pints of encouragement and a double dare,
the smirking history-maker carried his clanking
back-pack of revolution:
a can of red spray paint
banging against the hard case of his fake
designer sunglasses.
A 2am moonless night
was the scene of the rhyme against hate crime.
He had to act with speed as
Stranmillis still tapped and skipped with passing foot-traffic.
He mouthed each letter as he sprayed,
pausing half-way
to curse the paint speckling his right hand
like some rampant-red high-risk rash.
He liked this new red hand of Ulster,
but wasn't sure
his mum would smile
if paint had stained his sleeve.
He finished with an exclamation mark.
That'll show them.
STOP RACIST ATTACKS NOW!
he wrote
on the hoarding surrounding
the Ulster Museum.
And every racist going past
is punched repentant reading the words
painted red on the builders hoarding.
Right the world by writing large in red.
Mon Jul 14 2008 01:54