Waiting for Godden: 'Here Be Dragons' EP 4 'Watling Street' podcast out today...

🎧 Good Morning!

Why not start your day today by exploring the wonderful world of Watling Street with John Higgs ‘Here Be Dragons’ Ep 4 of Watling Street podcast up now on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com

This series of 4 programmes features great conversations, history, geography, myths, magic, poetry and story telling from John Higgs, David Bramwell, Cerys Matthews, Alan Moore, Iain Sinclair, DJ Greg Wilson and many, many more. I've been commissioned to write a poem for this podcast and you’ll find me in Ep 4. Go to iTunes now and seek it out, it’s got to be good for your soul to start the day with connections to our dreams and histories...

WATLING STREET

Poem for John Higgs - 'Pessimism Is For Lightweights'

Think of those that marched Watling Street before

And those that will tread here in years to come

The road in shadow and the road in the sun

The road before us and the road all done

History is watching us and what will we become

This road is of flags and milestones

Immigrant blood and sweat and tears

Built these cities, built this country and

Made Watling Street last all these years

Watling Street is made of protest

And those not permitted to vote

The people that are still fighting to speak

With a boot stamping on their throat

Pessimism is for lightweights

Watling Street is not clear nor straight

But I believe living is about living true

and love will conquer hate

When you lose something

You retrace your steps until you find it again

And Watling Street is older than history

Times of gods and witches and dragons and noblemen

We live in a time of building walls

But the language has always been the same

Them and us and us and them

Burning bridges in shame and in God's name

But if there is one thing Watling Street teaches us

It's the same cycle with the same blatant flaw

That the rich can only stay rich

By keeping the poor, poor

Every king and queen knows this

All the kings soldiers and all the kings men

But the ghosts of slavery rise up and shout

never say never again

Watling street is paved with blood and conflict

Sometimes just because people wanna scrap

Tearing lives apart, creating division

By drawing borders on a map

We can choose the stories we tell

And the page of history we share

The way we want to be remembered

And if we were dreaming or we were really there

Pessimism is for lightweights

This road is never a straight white line

It's the bumps and curves and obstacles

That make Watling Street yours and mine

Pessimism is for lightweights

We're under fire, bombarded like hail stones

Every morning more negativity

Buzz buzz buzzing in our iPhones

Ah yes, the future is so bleak

There is no point marching to Downing Street

But they want you to feel powerless

So get up and out and on your feet

Pessimism is for lightweights

Watling street is not easy or straight

But living is all about living alive

and love will conquer hate

But there so much magic in having optimism

To have faith and to stay true to you

Because if you can look in the mirror

And have belief and promise you

Will share wonder in living things

Beauty, dreams, books and art

Love your neighbour and be kind

And have an open heart

Then you're already winning at living

You speak up, you show up and stand tall

It is silence that is complicit

It's apathy that hurts us all

Pessimism is for lightweights

Don't eat low-hanging bitter fruit

Pessimism is for lightweights

Put all that doubt on mute

Pessimism is what pessimism does

Feeds all the negatives because

As long as you're feeding ignorance and fear

There's no need to imagine a better world dear

To believe in love takes balls and heart and guts

If you can keep your head, whilst the rest of the world goes nuts

Shoulder to shoulder we fight the same fights as all our parents yesterday

And they didn't silence them and they won't silence us today

Pessimism is for lightweights

Watling Street is not a straight white line

It's the bumps and curves and obstacles

That make Watling Street yours and mine

You must believe in more

Believe love will conquer hate

To sing it loud and clear

Pessimism is for lightweights

Watling Street was never easy and straight

And living is all about living alive and lively

And love will conquer hate

(c) Salena Godden / London 2017

Poem written for John Higgs, 'Watling Street' - First draft 'Pessimism is for lightweights' performed at Corbyn 'For the Many' Gig, Kentish Town Forum July 2017 - This version for broadcast on the Watling Street Podcast.