They sleep so soundly in their beds,
Presuming safety in their towers,
And do just what the notice says:
They sleep so soundly in their beds.
Developers have made a wedge,
Contracted firms and misspent hours;
They sleep so soundly in their beds
Presuming safety in their towers.
By Sean Gibson. A version of this poem was first published in ‘Origami Poems and Towering Stories‘ (Earlyworks Press 2019).
‘In Their Towers‘ is another triolet, like ‘Children‘ – but this is one of the first I ever wrote.
I’ve written several more since that haven’t worked, haven’t pivoted meanings through the repetitions in quite the way I wanted. It’s not always easy to enjoy your own work so it’s nice to savour it when you do.