Nothing You Can Do

nothing you can do

"We shall squeeze you empty
and then we shall fill you
with ourselves."
~ George Orwell (1984)

"Australians should not close their eyes
to acts done in their name."
~ Mat Tinkler, Save the Children

a child has been hit by a car
it is Spring
there is the smell of fresh cut lawn
and rubber burned on bitumen

you did not see this thing
and there is no driver

says number 10,
the child ran against the lights
the red man,
not the green,
that's their ball, over there,
in the gutter.

the child is face down in the road
in a hoodie, torn at the sleeves
their shoes are some distance
from their feet
and their fingers splayed
like a crushed bag of french fries

there is still some movement
in the hips and the knees
and a voice - not crying exactly,
and not a scream,
just air escaping,
strange,
like the sound of a radio
between stations

it's a shame, really
but they were in the wrong
so there is nothing you can do
it is for the Greater Good

to move would send a signal
that all those years of traffic planning
and careful programming of intersection lights
counted for nothing
if people are to be rewarded
for their trespass

so you watch a little longer,
though number 10 has given up,
off to check their mail and brush
errant leaves from the windshield of their car

a few vehicles pass, slowing to avoid
the crumpled child -
it must be school pick-up time
for most of them have
small uniformed passengers

they seem momentarily alarmed
looking down from their rear door windows
but you witness the reassurance
seep back into their faces,
like the eyes of a snail
regaining rectitude
it's for the Greater Good
the lips of the parents read.

it is Spring
there is a rustle in the trees
and the ticking of the Walk signal on repeat,
though there are no pedestrians

that ball in the gutter is familiar
like the ones you used to whack
over the neighbour's fence when you were 9 -
6 and out!!

you'd climb those splintery palings and pause
knowing that it was wrong
to drop into that garden
of prize winning roses
to fish out the ball and be hauled breathless
back over by a brother
and a sister,
a mad terrier nipping at your heels

it was good.
there was nothing greater.

* 6 and out!! is a colloquial phrase used in a game of backyard cricket. If the ball is hit over a neighbour's fence, the batter scores six runs, but is also immediately deemed "out".