In little over two years
I have had more scans
Than a supermarket checkout
There is more of my blood in path labs
Than I have in my body
I've had nasty painful biopsies
Things up my **** and cameras down my neck
There have been countless appointments
At four different hospitals
As well as being hospitalised five times
Including one minor operation
And two major ones
I now have ******* up kidneys
Veins like ropes and arms like Twiglets
And more scars
Than a bad knife-throwers assistant
But what the hell !
I'm still growing old disgracefully
HA !!

                               By Phil Roberts

What has happened to this city?
Why is everyone afraid to live here?
Why are all the faces pale?
Why is there an eerie silence all around?
Why is there a sense of fear in the air?
The markets are empty
The schools are deserted
The fields don't have no visitors
Many people don't even have food and water
The city seems like a person wrongly
locked up in chains
Waiting to set itself free and flee for it's life
The city which was once a hub of peace and joy...
...has today become a haven for crime and violence
Each day witnessess violence
Children are killed
Women are molested
Men are shot dead
People are afraid to venture out of their homes
The police no longer protects
For it's duty has now become to oppress
Daily clashes with the public is something they are accustomed to now
In fact it scares me to think that they actually enjoy it
The government watches all of this with a blind eye
While the city continues to burn
They are busy filling up their coffers
People are afraid to speak out
And those who do speak out are silenced
Each and everyday the sun sets upon this city with a heavy heart
For it knows that in the dark the city suffers even more
Today the city is like a scared child
Afraid even of it's own shadow
The air has become polluted...
...not with smoke but with hatred
It pains me to see the city like this
I hope and wish that things change
This city deserves better
The people deserve better