The Dead Stay Smiling
We disappeared and reappeared
Wastes, the lowest of the low
Invisible teeth, invisible jaws
Screeching trains to deliverance
Hauled by the legs to claustrophobic rooms
Put to sleep by the men’s screams
Skinless, bipedal organisms, shining red
In the fluorescent light
Smuggling fags in arse cracks, through magnestised doors
Walking into recycled tendrils of madness
Metastasising to cancers in the throat of the institution
Revolving together as one consciousness at the brim of the cup
We were Patrolled by wannabe drill instructors beneath sliding eyes
Shifting polyester, swinging lanyards, headlocked and patted down
Pumping in the 1500V of tasers
With rows of bespectacled graduates minuting our moves
At the control of a distant, bureaucratic appetite, pencil pushing in some faraway Cubicle
And we go back and forth with them, speaking hateful morse codes
It was good to hate, for in hatred we remembered ourselves
Those men had told me they were dead already
But the dead stay smiling
Ameer Azad is our current Poet-in-Residence. Every now and then we find a voice that sings (or screams) to us. Those voices that show us something new - whether beautiful or repulsive - voices from out there that somehow resonate deeply. Voices we just 'get'. When that happens we graciously ask that they join us for a time. To live and scream along with us.
You can learn more about Ameer, his work and voice in his fantastic interview here.
We also invite you to follow Ameer on Instagram by hitting the button below.
We're constantly on the look out for new artists, creatives and initiatives to feature in TheNeverZine - so if you are, or know someone who is going their own way and doing their own thing on their own terms and would be a good fit to feature please smash that button below and get in contact. By talking to each other, and sharing our journeys, ideas and insights on creativity, art, mental health and resilience we can all create, share and thrive together. Nice thought that.
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