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Poet's Corner

TIME OF THE SIGNS

24-11-2008

Road Sign

The Stirrer's poet laureate Brendan Hawthorn calls for the deforestation of extraneous signage from modern life. It's supposed to help - but ends up causing confusion.

It’s the time of the signs
It’s a dead end street
A no through road
A cul-de-sac
A no-way
Give-way
One-way
It’s a no-go
driver
nagging from
the back seat
on the
local by-pass
You will
not get past go
You will
buy up time
or pay the fine
on restrictive
double lines
No turning to the right
No veering to the left
No argument
Stay central
Avoid the reservation
when taking observations
Live a mini-island life
in mounting strife and
curb all feelings of distress
or mounting pavements
when under duress
There’s a no-loading
window for retail
A no-unloading opportunity
for wholesale
as highways
plant another
urban by-way’s
sustainable forest
of signage
with little illumination
and little point
except for growing
seeds of condemnation
for a spoon-fed nation
where chicanery
drives you completely
round the bend

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