A Vision of the Future
To keep mentally positive, I find I need to imagine a place a few years into the future where we have already made some of the transitions we need to do to survive. My starting point was just that idea from the Transition Town movement: 'I ask people to close their eyes and to take a walk around in that world, in that 2030, using all of their senses. What does it smell like? What does it taste like, sound like, feel like?' My finishing point, the title of this poem, is actually quoted from a speech by the then Housing Minister, Harold Macmillan, in 1951 about the Public Housing policy consensus at that time.
A Question of Humanity
What if we replace current traffic
whine with bird song?
Insects hum to flowers so bright
that foot-steps linger long
And children play fearlessly
out on the street
Excited chatter, inventive games
with space to meet
Just electric bus-lings
confined to a single track
And a cycle lane each way
to town and back.
We know our neighbours -
networks of mutual care
We give and they give
such team-work there
So much to gain
pleasure to enjoy
Ensures a joyful future
for every girl and boy
We grow and they grow
in our communities for ever
Let’s talk through the issues
imagine and progress together
We need brave empathy,
and faith to make this real
Patience to listen,
share exactly how we feel
When the air is clean
it’s fresh like in spring
You’ll want to get outside
breathe deep and sing!
Human song
mixed with birdsong
want to try?
A cacophony of hope
resounds through the sky
Communal spirit captures
the warmth of things we share
Aims to reduce life’s stress
enable potential and flair
Our currency’s creative space
recycling and repair
Wholesome local food,
universal income –
keep it fair
A system that works for us
gives well-being primacy
It’s a case of love and respect,
a question of humanity