Today’s poem

Oh, pity them! Pity

the people Everywhere . . . worldwide

no doubt, Bearing their secret affliction With never a squeak or

a shout. Going about their business, Maintaining the status quo, Flying low, under the radar, For no one, but no one,

must know. It’s only alone and in private When masking restrictions

are shed They finally finish pretending And show their true

colours instead. Deep down in their

internet caverns Hiding in very plain sight, They send forth their

targeted missiles To seek out and injure

and blight. They reach for computer

and keypad In search of some kind

of release, Spewing forth

bilious venom, Hoping for power

and peace. But easement is short-lived

and fleeting, The sickness too deeply

entrenched, A fire this intense,

all-consuming, Can not be so easily

quenched. For, all of those multifanged serpents Tucked up so snugly inside Will carry on growing

and breeding Their appetite never denied. So, pity these pitiful people Whose malaise must soon

take its toll As acid, so harsh

and corrosive, Leaks backwards, devouring

the soul.

Tricia Sturgeon, Mundesley, Norfolk.