Teenage Howl Poem by David Lewis Paget

‘Do you think that I’m Captain Marvel,
Do you think that I’ve got the power?
I’m a teenage howl with a hooded cowl
As the whey of the world turns sour.
I’m a puppet, churned in a frenzy
By the battlescars of men,
If I take my place at the end of the race
I’ll be left at the start again.’

‘Do you think that the great decisions
Are left to the likes of me?
With a zap-pow-zok, the atomic clock
Would banish their pedigree.
But a mere ‘Shazam’ from a young Batman
Won’t challenge the surly throne,
Don’t make no wave from your fortress cave
If you want to be left alone.’

‘They’ll poison your drinking water,
Bombard you with radium ‘B’,
If you’re not insane or in too much pain
They’ll hook you on dope or tea,
They’ll give you a medical number
And rip off your capital gains,
You’ll rust in jail on a bloody nail
And dispose of your own remains.’

‘No! I’ll be your Captain Midnight
And you can be Joan of Arc,
I’ve a place in bed for your lovely head
‘Til your light ignites the spark;
If you want me out on the streets with you
To carry your placard scowl,
You’d better go bomb the Isotron
And practice your teenage howl.’

26 June 1977