t’other side o’t’fence

Matt

From neon sprawls blue-lit gun 
i was spun from a blazing bullit
bang on target, into fenced-off slums 

First they raised me to the docks 
said, ‘If this is what you choose, there is no place here for you!’ 
I pleaded for forgiveness, and I chose to stay 

Then I got caught again 
up in the mists of a counterfeit rain on the Crumley bridge 
where the eye of the dotterel met mine 
they said, ‘If this is what you choose, there is no place here for you!’ 
I argued, ‘If I chose this, then we all each chose to be born!’ 
and with that I was dragged by the arms 
and… 

From neon sprawls blue lit gaze 
I was spun from a blazing bullit 
right on into here, into these here slums

the radioactive menace was radio silent 
but the fang’eads are ‘ere
caged behind rusted bars 
hanging from the walls against which they clatter 
and the fang’eads screech and bark 
with a sound across between a dog and crow. 

Men and women step out of their ill-lit hovels 
and whack the cages with iron bars 
‘shut ya yappin’ or i’ll feed ya t’squirrels!’ 
as if bein’ fed to the squirrels is worse than their fate
but by the by, they’re comin’ out t’other end of somethin’. 

See, I’m gettin’ gist o’ this now
if I could just blend in 
become like I never knew t’other side o’t’fence 
they’ll never know I’m not ‘ome.’ 


Author’s note:

This is written for W3

Free Verse.

Inspired by a character in some fiction I’ve been working on, playing around with for a while. Sci-fi.
 


7 thoughts on “t’other side o’t’fence”

    • Matt's avatar Matt Oct 24, 2026 / 12:32 pm

      I realise now in hindsight the mystery as to why he’s thrown out of ‘normal’ society makes it a bit too vague. So, i picked the wrong character I think, as i had to keep that a bit of a mystery because if ever finish the damn story its supposed to be unknown for a bit lol

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  2. Matt's avatar Matt Oct 24, 2026 / 12:31 pm

    I realise now in hindsight the mystery as to why he’s thrown out of ‘normal’ society makes it a bit too vague. So, i picked the wrong character I think, as i had to keep that a bit of a mystery because if ever finish the damn story its supposed to be unknown til its revealed lol

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  3. ben Alexander's avatar ben Alexander Oct 26, 2026 / 3:59 pm

    Matt, I love how your wild slang makes this strange, fenced-off world feel real, while “t’other side o’t’fence” turns being an outsider into something we can all understand.

    ~David

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