Poison by Neil Fulwood

Every thorn has its bloodstain, just
like every rose has a poet to tell its lies.
PR works wonders. Who do you trust?

It’s all about image. The cut and thrust
of advertising glosses the painful surprise
every thorn has. Its bloodstain, just

fading now to a shade resembling rust,
is map-like. But used by which side’s spies?
PR works wonders. Who do you trust?

Answer: no-one; nothing. Even the dust
stops your voice, obscures the skies.
Every thorn has its bloodstain, just;

sometimes it’s only a scratch, a trust
betrayed but only mildly. Nobody dies.
PR works wonders. Who do you trust

when men in suits try, as they must,
to upend truth, to persuade you otherwise?
Every thorn that has its bloodstain’s just
PR working wonders. Who do you trust?

Neil Fulwood is the author of film studies book ‘The Films of Sam Peckinpah’. His poetry has been featured in The Morning Star, The Stare’s Nest, Butcher’s Dog, Monkey Kettle, Nib Magazine and Ink Sweat & Tears. He divides his time between the pub and cinema, and somehow manages to hold down a day job.