Phillip Mann – writer, teacher and theatre director

And what do they want,
these hippopotami in uniform,
these pantomime dames with their medals,
but who still hold the keys to her cage?

She is slim as a knife,
and beautiful too.
Bright as an arrow,
that catches the sun.
Strong as the north wind
which blows from the sea.
And calm as the pool
Which mirrors your face,
when thirsty you
bow down to drink.

They have much to fear,
These grotesques,
for she is dangerous,
as the truth always is
as the river that flows
under a statue
eroding the sand
on which it is based.