Dec. 17, 2023
Audio
The Order of Chaos
By Rick Dove
View full text below.
The Order of Chaos
By Rick Dove
Park daze, when the sun has warm enough measure,
that sitting in the shade is a pleasure, it flits through
memory fleeting, dancing on a breeze….
There is a tale
About a boy and his pet caterpillar,
About how it remade itself inside its silken walls,
but when finally struggling to emerge from the spun shell,
the boy, in his impatience, cut the chrysalis,
meaning the butterfly’s wings did not swell
in the battle to be free, and so they were too weak
to support the butterfly, and so the butterfly died.
Being the caterpillar will make you hate this story,
With all its neoliberal indolent deniability,
Don’t help them, their struggle is necessary,
Don’t bother with adaptations if they are “too much headache”
They need these tests and trials in order to be “shaped”
All of it, reminiscent of misquoted Darwinism about the fittest,
Ignoring the fact evolution is gradual towards glacial,
And the fittest in this case, are the best adapted
And they say all this, as if society itself isn’t an artifice All our
surroundings an artifice, that we can shape however we see fit,
The purpose of society
is to support and uplift its most vulnerable members,
So, if a society fails to do this,
It is not fit for purpose.
Wings may need to develop in struggle, but if they do not swell
A fit society should find a way to lift every butterfly,
Find a way to weigh each breath the same,
Until each and every wing beat has meaning,
Has time and space to spawn hurricanes,
Half a world away.
Park daze, the sun in warm enough measure,
that sitting in the shade is a pleasure,
and this flits through, dancing on a breeze….
Rick Dove - Photo Credit Justin David
Once voted “most likely to start the revolution” Rick Dove is a progressive poet and activist from Southwest London. Arriving on the spoken word scene in 2015, Rick has performed across the UK and internationally, with performance credits including The Wandsworth Arts Fringe, the Edinburgh Fringe, and Greenbelt and Shambala Festivals.
Rick’s work has also been published widely, including: on spoken word albums with Nymphs & Thugs; in journals including, Bunbury Magazine, Soapbox & Untitled Writers; and in anthologies published by Arachne Press, Nine Pens Press, and Tonic Sta Press.
Dubbed "one to watch" by TS Eliot Prize winner Roger Robinson, Rick has published two collections with Burning Eye Books, Tales From the Other Box (August 2020), and Supervillain Origin Story (May 2023), and was crowned the Hammer & Tongue UK Poetry Slam Champion at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2021.
Equally at home on a stage, a page, or on a march, Rick has a vision of a fairer world and he wants to take you with him.
Image Description: Rick Dove, a six-foot black man standing on a black stage, with black backdrop. On the backdrop is the word Bold in neon pink lettering. Rick has a shaved head, wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt with white writing. The white writing reads Love (lo-ve), n. a strong feeling of affection especially for another person; devoted affection for or attachment to; parental care; a sweetheart: v.t. to regard with strong affection; feel devotion towards; delight in: v.i. to be in love; have strong affection.