Utility And Creative Licence Poem by Keith Shorrocks Johnson

And I said
I don’t see how it helps you
To humiliate me
And she sobbed
I don’t want to humiliate you.

And later that night after
Grand-standing and sulks
Thong and high heels
We made love
And she thought of the ironing
And I thought
Worriedly - hurriedly
Of the clandestine
And I slept that deep dark sleep
And she tossed and turned.

So my country
We survive
You and I
Utility and
Creative Licence
Rubbing along:

To you I am full
Of misplaced arrogance
Questioning everything
Taking nothing for granted
To me you are full
Of misplaced ignorance
Questioning nothing
Taking everything for granted.

And yet you sobbed
Deep heaving regrets
And I offered
To clean the bathroom
Saying
It’s not about Tall Poppies
It’s about taking stock
And then turning the page
And you said:

The everyday is everything
We don’t do too badly.