Tuesday Poem: In A World Without Pity, A Town Without Fear

Come 8pm we're locked away




with cable porn, sport from distant shores,

and Evony.




High heels click

down summer-softened streets.

Treble voices flutter tired leaves.




The women are on the prowl

with no quarry but each other.

If I were free to leave




I would watch them hit the bars,

dolled up, in packs —

at least, that's how they used to be.




Debbie does Dallas, then Dannevirke.

In last night's game, Drogba shoots, and scores.

My fighter levels up from Level 2 to Level 3.




Time drips from the clock's tired hands

and slides to pool in the male-proof lock:

a simple trick with DNA.




She'll come home and maybe she'll want me.

If I could, I would take her now.
If I could, I would walk away.



Credit note: First published in Men Briefly Explained (IP, 2011).



Tim says: My first two collections, Boat People and All Blacks' Kitchen Gardens, both have a section of speculative poems - some specifically science fiction, and others that pose (and even attempt to answer) various "what-if" questions. This is a what-if poem from Men Briefly Explained: what if men were locked inside at night?



The Tuesday Poem: You can check out all the Tuesday Poems at the Tuesday Poem blog - the hub poem in the centre, and the other Tuesday Poets' work linked from the left.You can buy books by Tim Jones online! Voyagers: SF Poetry from NZ from Amazon.Transported (short story collection) from Fishpond or New Zealand Books Abroad.