The Alibi

Sara without an H > this collection: Poems > Warm Hands Cold Heart > The Juggler > Form A Queue > Lamé > The Alibi > Attention Seeker > Consider It Brought > Genie In A Jam Jar >> next collection: Fragments Of Hell

The Alibi

(written 8 Jan 2015)

It's been brought to my attention
That the attributes I mention,
When I say to Form A Queue chaps,
May give you the Itchycoo flaps,
But there's one thing I omitted
While on you my wits were pitted,
And yours is not to reason why;
I hear you've got an alibi.

So today I'm Morgiana, 
Here to worry and alarm ya,
'Cause I've shanked your gash-hag leader,
He's a sorry, sappy bleeder,
I've dispatched a soulless soldier, 
Toothless tiger, as I told ya,
And you're up next to do or die;
I overheard your alibi.

Barmy armies cannot fight me,
Fiercest hellhound dare not bite me,
Sits and dribbles like a puppy,
You do likewise, k-hole yuppie!
Sit and cower in your ket cave,
I'm a clever-as-they-get slave,
While I stay sober, you get high;
You gave away your alibi.

There's no need to hide in jars mate,
Venus doesn't want a Mars date,
Morgiana wouldn't spoil ya,
I'm not gonna boiling-oil ya!
Oil on troubled water maybe,
I'm so sick of slaughter baby,
I've no desire to make you fry;
You've gone and cooked your alibi. 

Three down, thirty-seven standing,
Why's your lifestyle so demanding?
Why the boastful, coked-up shouting?
Why self-hating? Why self-doubting?
Why the parody machismo?
Why turn into gremlins Gizmo?
'Round midnight you're a decent guy;
But then kicks in the alibi.

Secret thoughts and furtive glances,
Sneaky thieves take stolen chances,
Guilty pleasure, fearful shame,
Self-loathing by another name,
In cupboards under background noise,
In Thailand with the ladyboys,
When "Open Sesame!" they cry;
Each one supports the alibi. 

I just can't think how you must feel
When no one talks and no one's real,
When no one does and no one dares,
When no one loves and no one shares.
My bi-dar has induced your fears,
I've known about you all for years,
And watched you suffer, as have I;
It's poisonous, your alibi.

Your view inside your rattled cage
Of me, and this embattled age,
Is that I started it, oh really?
How I'd love to end it, dearly. 
Diss me! Hate me! Slate me! Block me!
Prove you're "straight": try to unfrock me!
But all your efforts to deny,
Just reinforce your alibi.

Do you think that you disgust me? 
Can't believe you didn't trust me!
Shoulda tried your hand confessing:
I like bi guys and cross dressing,
I'll make you up volcano hot!
There's more of you guys bi than not,
Excuse me while I kiss the sky; 
Superfluous, your alibi. 

Your secrecy's a rusty pail,
Your alibi's a flimsy veil,
Transparent as new wings unfurled,
If you came out you'd change the world.
And if you want to Form A Queue
Feel free to do it two by two...
Why not hold hands boys? Don't be shy!
I see right through your alibi. 


© Sara Nicola Ruth

Background to the poem

I wrote this poem as a sequel to Form A Queue to express ideas which didn’t make it into the earlier poem.

I was inspired by the forthright and effective actions of the slave girl Morgiana in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (علي بابا والأربعون لصا).

This story is included in many versions of the One Thousand and One Nights, to which it was added by Antoine Galland in the 18th century. It is one of the most familiar of the “Arabian Nights” tales, and has been widely retold and performed in many media, especially for children, where the more violent aspects of the story are often suppressed.

In the story, Ali Baba is a poor woodcutter who discovers the secret of a thieves’ den, entered with the phrase “Open Sesame”. The thieves learn this, and try to kill Ali Baba. But Ali Baba’s faithful slave-girl Morgiana foils their plots; Ali Baba gives his son to her in marriage and keeps the secret of the treasure.

(…) When the forty thieves return that night, they cannot identify the correct house and their leader kills the unsuccessful thief in a furious rage. The next day, another thief tries again. Again, Morgiana foils the plan (…) and the second thief is killed for his failure as well.

The leader of the thieves pretends to be an oil merchant in need of Ali Baba’s hospitality, bringing with him mules loaded with thirty-eight oil jars, one filled with oil, the other thirty-seven hiding the other remaining thieves. Once Ali Baba is asleep, the thieves plan to kill him. Again, Morgiana discovers and foils the plan, killing the thirty-seven thieves in their oil jars by pouring boiling oil on them.

To exact revenge after some time, the leader of the thieves establishes himself as a merchant (…) and is invited to dinner at Ali Baba’s house. However, the thief is recognized by Morgiana who performs a dance with a dagger for the diners and plunges it into his heart when he is off his guard.

Big up

▪️ Itchycoo Park is a psychedelic pop song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, first recorded by their group, the Small Faces. The song reached number three in the UK Singles Chart in 1967.

▪️ Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from the 1854 narrative poem The Charge of the Light Brigade:

Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

▪️ Gremlins is a 1984 American horror comedy film directed by Joe Dante, about a young man who receives a Mogwai called Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into Gremlins – small, destructive, evil monsters.

There are three specific instructions for looking after Mogwai: never expose it to bright light, never let it touch water, and most importantly: no matter how much it cries or begs, never feed it after midnight.

▪️ ’Round Midnight is a 1943 jazz standard by pianist Thelonious Monk. It is the most recorded jazz standard composed by a jazz musician.

▪️ Jimi Hendrix, from Purple Haze, which was included in the Experience’s debut album, Are You Experienced (1967): “‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky”.

Hendrix sometimes sang it as “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy”. [That isn’t from wiki, it’s from my brain.]

The Alibi

The Alibi

Background to the poem

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