Halloween Post

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"I will kill the despot in my head,
let my body riot for independence..."

(from State of Emergency by Vik Bennett - see below for full poem)

Inspired by a poem by Vik, this is a short extract from an experimental piece done in 2004. Shot with a very basic digital still camera, the images were then manipulated by photoshop software. Happy mischief making this All Hallow's Eve!

State of Emergency

For this
I will risk
everything.

I will kill the despot in my head,
let my body riot for independence,
throw tear gas into the squares of my eyes,
send my limbs scattering down cobbled streets.
Before long my blood will break from its cells
and storm the walls of my heart.

Lights flash behind my eyes, warning ships
away from the needle-cliffs of my bones.
Wreckers strip these shores. They've looted
the stores, snatched words from silk pouches,
stolen the eyes of memory and left
the sweet smell of narcissi in the air.

People are frightened,
hiding behind closed doors, whispering my name.
They want to take charge, send in the police
before it becomes dangerous.

All those men and women, busy
watching from their window-boxes,
terrified of civil unrest.

I will do my best
to give them
what they expect.

c. Vik Bennett
(first appeared in Orbis Magazine, No. 130, Autumn 2004)