Poem: 'Jeremy B' by Sean Bw Parker

'Jeremy B' by Sean Bw Parker

Jeremy B

There are voices in her head, she says

Everyone knows it

Tense as the family may be

But guns aren't his thing, having fun is

From his cell of more than thirty years

Jeremy watches TV series come and go

Endless ruminations on his character

And the murders at the Farm

A now-haunted seat of tragedy

Haunted by the public imagination

Mediated through the convicted harms

Of one man-boy

Or so we're told; as the story is better

Than the reality might be

Jeremy grieves for all, while accused

Having never had a gun

But being a confident young man, adventuring in money

Paying the ultimate price at the disposal of the State

Would the Judge have hanged him

Given the chance?

Whyever not - the public demands

There is a struggle, the sister is fighting

Leaving marks, scratches

Jeremy's girlfriend panics

Or is she out of young love?

Or had enough of endless questioning

By the police; cuts the lifeline

'He'll do' for the thousandth time

The public wants more blood; the family's wasn't enough

'And that lad looks like an arrogant so-and-so'

Quiffed-up and expressionless

On the evening news

'He must've done it because he was adopted'

With bio-parents at Buck Palace

Never trust a bisexual anyway, they say

Whether he helps other prisoners to read or not

How dare he study for his GCSEs?

And what more evidence do they need

To be well in front of reasonable doubt

At the very least.

Sean Bw Parker