More Political Echoes

Defence

An amorphous concept, defence
Sounds virtuous
Implies danger from somewhere
Suggestive of paternal regard
A watching over of the vulnerable
With love and care
By loquaciously adept political figures
But one moment please
What is the point of the weapons you make?
Those jobs jobs jobs
Doing that
Mean big business
Expansion an ever present aim
For that
You need potential enemies
Foes
Conjured forth
More often by myth than reality
Jeopardy garnered from fairy stories
As you give forth to Hitler’s non sequitur:
The only way to preserve peace is prepare for war
So border protection is a game of cards
Dealt with a sleight of hand
Aha!
Sizzling sausages!
Look at all those ways of causing bodily harm
On that new assembly line
Wow!
And nuclear powered submarines are promised
To our great grandchildren
Yes indeed
Thor’s in his heaven
And all’s right with the world

Another Dream

I have a dream, another dream
Where in an age of anger
Poor benighted souls find comfort
Kindness
A greeting in my land
To them a foreign strand
Yet made friendly
With love and understanding and compassion
Where all men are brothers
All women sisters
All children playmates
And each day is not a prison but a sanctuary
I have a dream, another dream
Where colour is not a signal of difference
Where slanted eyes are beautiful too
And new words have a meaning to be discovered with patience
In that dream I play a model role
Powerful
As a person of significance
Respected
Revered amidst dark days of despair
Because my country
Greets refugees with consideration and care
And with my joyous approval

The False Prophet

Technology
Will seriously address
The issue of climate change
Thus spake the false prophet loudly
His mind adrift in a deadly sea of deception
And the people heard him
Gathering intently around him as they were wont to do
Belief invading gullible minds
But note well
Reality disputed his twisted words
To reveal his folly…
That recent drought lasted almost forever
Crops cried out in pain and died
Farms became airborne and covered even cities with their dust
And old Jacob’s tractor atrophied from lack of use
Then came the holocaust with angry flames
Devouring everything
The aroma of death maiming the air
While water dribbled aimlessly from a malfunctioning hose
Next came the flood
Aquatic violence unleashed in a torrent that showed no mercy
Water vanquished fields and roads
And that reckless man drowned in his car
The tempest followed
Sonic wind bellowing in anger
Beating its fist on crumbling walls and tearing roofs apart
That child died in a demolished playroom
As a power failure spread darkness around
And so it was
That prophesy was so easy to make
Delivered as it was with such eloquent confidence
Yet sadly so remote from a real world
Well might you ask when doom next knocks upon your door
What can a pipe dream do for me today?

Anzac Day For A Stranger

I am a stranger
Born far away in a foreign land
Where war destroyed my home
And killed my parents
I was a boy soldier
Who learnt to kill instead of going to school
To strike foes surreptitiously
After hiding in unexpected places
Death was a normal thing for me
It was everywhere
A consequence of invasion
Part of the routine organised by invading mercenaries
Today I have been to your dawn service
Heard the gentle sounds of the echoing trumpets
Saw old men marching
And the occasional tear in the eyes
So moved I was
For I too have memories
Now that I have grown old and the years condemn me
Age tends to weary me
Yet I have found a brotherhood in your ceremony
Beyond the going down of the sun
And in the morning
I too remember
And I am no longer your enemy

Dog Whistle

I hear you
You with your subtle political message
Your virulent
Persuasion of chosen stooges
With talk
Cleverly phrased to gain the support of the unworthy
And generate wrong deeds
Yes I read you
You with your pretence of virtue
But beware, take care
Those words of yours will ring around the firmament
Turning back towards you
Like daggers
Pointed at your corrupt heart
Exposing
All that you are with your cunning ploy
That turns
Deceit into sinister music to lull the guilty
Into degenerate behaviour
O yes
You seem to win don’t you?
But beware; take care
Your petard can destroy you
As scoundrels so often erase themselves
Since evil deeds tend to echo
And come back to haunt you
Some of us who have been there before
Are once bitten twice aware
So mend your ways
Or learn the power of silence before it is too late

royciebaby