Uploaded November 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
ALWAYS WHY
By P B Taylor
I
Such emotive words as mine
Are a nothing amongst this suffering
Such pain remains forever unfeeling
In the indifference which surrounds us
II
Am I mad or merely immature!
Lacking the style of this age
And its confidence of being
Do I really care for nothing?
Something so unobtainable makes me starve
To cry in a silent isolation
III
Of course, there is no answer
But for me mere experience
Knowing that I know nothing
Oxford. Summer 1980
Phillip Taylor MBE was born in Amersham and educated at London University and the Inns of Court School of Law. His working life was spent, firstly at the BBC in London, in the Ministry of Defence and the Army, and then as a barrister at law and mediator at Lincoln’s Inn after he was called to the Bar.
He was Chairman of the Society of Civil Service Authors Poetry Workshop from 1982 to 1986 and contributed to their annual anthology FOCUS. His poems and short stories have appeared in journals, magazines and newsletters and some have been broadcast by the BBC. He has produced several poetry collections since 1972.
The Poetry Workshop was founded by Bill Barnes in 1970. It was a part of the Society of Civil Service Authors (founded in 1935) which now known as the Society of Civil and Public Service Writers.
ALWAYS WHY
By P B Taylor
I
Such emotive words as mine
Are a nothing amongst this suffering
Such pain remains forever unfeeling
In the indifference which surrounds us
II
Am I mad or merely immature!
Lacking the style of this age
And its confidence of being
Do I really care for nothing?
Something so unobtainable makes me starve
To cry in a silent isolation
III
Of course, there is no answer
But for me mere experience
Knowing that I know nothing
Oxford. Summer 1980
Phillip Taylor MBE was born in Amersham and educated at London University and the Inns of Court School of Law. His working life was spent, firstly at the BBC in London, in the Ministry of Defence and the Army, and then as a barrister at law and mediator at Lincoln’s Inn after he was called to the Bar.
He was Chairman of the Society of Civil Service Authors Poetry Workshop from 1982 to 1986 and contributed to their annual anthology FOCUS. His poems and short stories have appeared in journals, magazines and newsletters and some have been broadcast by the BBC. He has produced several poetry collections since 1972.
The Poetry Workshop was founded by Bill Barnes in 1970. It was a part of the Society of Civil Service Authors (founded in 1935) which now known as the Society of Civil and Public Service Writers.
