I was yours to be seen,
yet I put out my eyes.
Blind and unclean
smoke ghosts drift across widescreen
flickering scenes I despise.
I was yours to be seen
on the high street between
mannequins and the beggar's sunrise.
Blind and unclean
on moonshine runs, as amphetamine
blurred visions catalyse.
I was yours to be seen
crosswise, as a Queen
in a chequer-board disguise.
Blind and unclean
wounds seen, where hands have been
tight at my throat and my thighs.
I was yours to be seen,
blind and unclean.

Desmond Dekker, Jamaican Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae singer-songwriter and musician, was born today in 1941.

Stewart Copeland, American musician and composer, the drummer and founding member of the Police, was born today in 1952.