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Gavin Mulholland
Gavin Mulholland's picture
Operation: Occupation By Jules Willocks

What would you do?

 

What would you do?

If they were here?

 

What would you do?

If they were here?

With their different tongues.

 

What would you do?

If they were here?

With their different tongues.

And their loaded guns.

 

What would you do?

If they were here?

With their different tongues.

And their loaded guns.

Aiming at our land.

 

What would you do?

If they were here?

With their different tongues.

And their loaded guns.

Aiming at our land.

With children close at hand.

 

What would you do?

If they were here?

With their different tongues.

And their loaded guns.

Aiming at our land.

With children close at hand.

So they’re too afraid to play, true!

 

What would you do?

If they were here?

With their different tongues.

And their loaded guns.

Aiming at our land.

With children close at hand.

So they’re too afraid to play, true!

What would you do?

 

Fight back?

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Hi Gavin,

What’s the background to this poem? I did a quick web search but nothing came up.

All the best,

Iain

Gavin Mulholland
Gavin Mulholland's picture

Jules Willocks is a poet here in London. I met him back in 1990 and have always found him inspirational.

A lot of his work is of course the poets' staple lost-love, but he has this anger about him which lifts his work to a different level in my opinion.

I put this one up here because I think it addresses an issue that I have spoken about before which is the need to decide beforehand what you would do in a specific  situation. Too many people fall back on the old cliche of 'You never know what you would do' and while that is to a high degree true, it hugely oversimplifies the issues involved,  (as do all, cliches).

Far better to have a plan that goes out the window, than not to have a plan in the first place, opting instead to simply hope it never happens.

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Gavin Mulholland wrote:
I put this one up here because I think it addresses an issue that I have spoken about before which is the need to decide beforehand what you would do in a specific  situation. Too many people fall back on the old cliché of 'You never know what you would do' and while that is to a high degree true, it hugely oversimplifies the issues involved,  (as do all, clichés).

Far better to have a plan that goes out the window, than not to have a plan in the first place, opting instead to simply hope it never happens.

I like it! Do you have a link to a book or a website that includes other work from him?

Many thanks,

Iain

Gavin Mulholland
Gavin Mulholland's picture

Once again, I'm afraid not.

I think I must like these troubled poets who 'shun the very commercial prostitution' which could put them on the map...