Two Poems by Lynn White

I Am A Child

I am a child of the revolution
created by the wake of
fascism and imperialism,
that sought to construct 
a more just society.

I am a child numbed by poverty, 
stultified by working class conformity,
of a mother who wanted better for me,
but also wanted to keep me the same.

I am a child of these contradictions
who became a rebel 
in the cultural revolution
of the rock and roll generation.
Who was liberated by student life,
by control of fertility,
by other places, 
by the music and art 
all parents hated.

I am still that child.
This is what made me.
This is what shaped me and
became part of my present, 
became part of my future.

Sometimes I have tried to escape it.
Sometimes I still do.



*First published by Ealain, My Heritage, Issue 8, May 2015





How Will I Know You

How will I know you, 
the man behind the mask.
I can recognize you
with the mask in place.

And sometimes it may slip and reveal ....
another layer, another mask, perhaps
masquerading as an unguarded comment
wearing stage clothes, even if naked.

You are in there somewhere.
But even though I peel off 
layer after layer,
uncover 
mystery after mystery
I still never find you.


*First Published in Firewords Quarterly, Issue 6, 2016

Bio: Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. Her poem 'A Rose For Gaza' was shortlisted for the Theatre Cloud 'War Poetry for Today' competition 2014. This and many other poems, have been published in recent anthologies including - Stacey Savage’s ‘We Are Poetry, an Anthology of Love poems’; Community Arts Ink’s ‘Reclaiming Our Voices’; Vagabond Press’s, ‘The Border Crossed Us’; ‘Degenerates - Voices For Peace’, ‘Civilised Beasts’ and ‘Vagabonds: Anthology of the Mad Ones’ from Weasel Press; ‘Alice In Wonderland’ by Silver Birch Press, and many rather excellent  on line and print journals.

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