Beware Of The God Poem by Harry St Vincent Beechey

He sat there

Obese and benign on a tiny stool

Positioned with care near the intersection

And he settled himself

Arranging his rags - setting up the cardboard sign

Beginning his ritual

Conducting the traffic lights.

-

He limbered up with a snap of the fingers

And GREEN became RED.

He smiled and nodded - and a sign flashed WALK

And with his lordly wave

The pedestrians surged forward.

The finger raised - and STOP.

-

RED - GREEN

GREEN - RED.

Settling down now into the rhythmic swing

Unnoticed by the morning throng

Save, perhaps, for those who knew

And smilingly approved

And children who laughed in wonder and believed

Bringing a smile to the tired eyes.

-

A glimpse of blue

And warm anticipation filled him

But NO!

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

It wasn't Pete

It was the New Policemen

-

An abrupt end to the dance - OH NO! OH NO!

And he shuffled quickly off

Clutching his stool

While a great police boot kicked the sign into the gutter

"Blasphemous ould divil! "

And the old man heard as he fled

And tears filled his eyes

And he permitted it to rain

Blurring the letters on the sign

‘ATTENTION - GOD AT WORK'

-

The cop directed traffic in the rain

And the fickle lights flashed to his command.

RED - GREEN - RED

WALK.

DON‘T WALK.



Harry St.V. Beechey." March 1972.