Category: 3. Poems

Abuse

.

Tory government

pathological dislike

of public sector

abusive relationship

bullying, undermining

.

by Scooj

As someone who has spent most of my career working for the public, I am sick of the abuse this government hurl at public sector workers, the very people who are ‘delivering’ Brexit , who teach, who heal, who care, who got this country through the pandemic, who protect the environment and regulate those who would do harm to people and nature, those who keep our streets safe and run fair courts, local service providers… the list goes on.

How dare they?

Broken-hearted

.
The tempo of the moment

I drag my feet behind me

slow, slow, quick, quick, slow

a leaden, broken-hearted, tango

.

Newsbeats punctuate the day

fuelling my impotence

wading through treacle

a saddened, broken-hearted, people

.

Generation’s legacy

it’s as if we’ve learned nothing

and Putin’s disdain

fragmented, broken-hearted, Ukraine

.

by Scooj

* I always feel it is a bit of a risk writing poetry like this. I don’t have a particularly highly developed skill for it, but I just wrote the words on a notepad, and, well, I’m sharing them. I am struggling to come to terms with the war in Ukraine, but it is only one of several defining moments of our time which have been handled rather badly… Climate crisis, biodiversity crisis, COVID-19, nationalism and war. What a bloody mess.

Climate emergency

.

Governments tell us

we need time to make changes

‘people aren’t ready’

meanwhile we see Rome burning

I sense a revolution

.

by Scooj

  • I am sickened by governments around the world asserting that making rapid changes to our fossil fuel habits will not be accepted by businesses or people. Surely the point here is that they must lead us through this difficult time, making those difficult choices, and selling the long-term benefits to their citizens. Sadly they are still in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry and other big players for whom change is costly and inconvenient. History will remember them for the pathetic cowards they are. They are failing in their duty to protect citizens and our beautiful home, Planet Earth. Time to change this ‘old order’.

Parsley in my ears

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Waiting for the boy

to watch the match together

the joy of playback

.

shut out all noises or clues

I’ll put parsley in my ears

.

by Scooj

This is a rather cryptic Tanka which I am composing while waiting for my son to get home from his late shift so that we can watch the England v Scotland match together on playback. I have to guard against hearing the neighbours shouting or turning on the radio or even using my phone in case I see or hear anything that might give away the score.

Putting parsley in my ears is an oblique reference to an Asterix cartoon book ‘Asterix the Gladiator’ in which the Roman soldiers put parsley in their ears so that they wouldn’t hear Cacofonix the bard singing, such was the dreadful noise he made.