Spanish Lesson

Guardia Civil

know the drill

Drafted in from other places

beating unfamiliar faces

Keepers of the peace

Police

That's the theory:

There and here, we

expect protection

get subjection

Saw that theory

cracked in practice

Dragged and kicked

grabbed and nicked

Keepers of the peace

Police

That facade's

been shattered

Charged and battered

punched and batoned

Washed away in voters' blood

Nipped in Catalunya's bud

Hammered homeward in detention

Spread the word, pay attention

Homework session

Spanish lesson

© Janine Booth

Spain in crisis after police violence in Catalan vote

Janine Booth lives in Hackney, East London, and writes and performs poetry. She has had three slim volumes of poetry published, and posts poems and political polemics at www.janinebooth.com

I Can't Breathe

Better, take breath away

at the sight of multitudes,

birds winging above skyscrapers

in blue sky, winter sun so

bright, eyes tear; at the sound

of voices in cold winter cities

demanding that Justice re-fasten

Her blindfold that too often

slips around Her neck like a noose.

Lois Bassen

25,000 march in New York to protest police violence

http://lsbassen.com/ Fiction Editor for http://www. prickof thespindle.com/ and 2011 Flannery O’Connor Award Finalist. In 2014, a novel & ss collection: http://typhoon-media.com/summer-of-the-long-knives/ and http://www.texturepress.org/livesofcrime.html.

http://lsbassen.com/ Poetry reviews for http://therumpus.net/ & others.

****IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT****

Hamish and I are delighted to be able to tell you that the future of Poetry24 is safe. We have recently heard from Martin Hodges, one of the founders and original editors of the journal, that he is willing to resume as editor. We really could not be more pleased and we know that our readers and contributors will be similarly delighted.