To Fingal O'Flahertie from Dublin

1

The problem with Dorian Gray, dear Oscar,

is that one simply doesn't care about him;

a beautiful butterfly turns into an ugly one

thanks to the soot of industrial revolution,

but so many beautiful butterflies remain pristine

that one turning ugly,

figuratively, literally, secretly and openly,

simply doesn't matter.

Let it be a moth that flies into a flame,

at least that will be remembered

still in the morning

as an anecdote to tell to others,

but butterflies - the meadows and fields

are full of them

and their hidden secrets.

2

Mirror to his society,

mirror to his class -

but there are so many others

that serve the same

in their non-fictional existence

from Edward the Bordello Prince of Wales

to the barefoot slum kids

coughing their sick lungs out

among the blackened tiles

of those working class wards

where the Dorians went

only to prey on the weak

and the young.

19.09.2014