Royce Levi Australian Teacher and Author

Liar Supremo

On a political icon in 2024

Listen to him
How diligently he works at deception!
Lies about law
Lies about his rivals
Lies about foreigners
Lies about his biblical insight
Lies about political achievement
And stunted thinkers alas have become his acolytes
O mercy!
What a dangerous man he is
How his words have deadly significance
How our future survival
Depends on success for his rival
And so the game goes on
Self interest the motif
Of this rogue
Who would seize power like a thief
So note this well
The crimes they are a-changing
Malpractice is the norm for his followers
Slanted legal outcomes now favour the villain
Absolute power for a monocrat is the aim
World shattering tyranny is poised above us
Ready to turn what we know and love
Into a morass of self interest for a winner
So think again you sad votaries of immorality
Choose another
Ere our Paradise becomes an Abaddon*

*This is a biblical reference to inter alia a pit or abyss of Hell

The Law Is An Ass

When law can do no right,
Let it be lawful that law can do no wrong:
Law cannot give my child his kingdom here,
For he that holds his kingdom holds the law.
King John, 3.1.189: Constance to Cardinal Pandulf

The law is an ass**
When there is no separation of the powers
Look at him
That asinine politician
Who fills the judiciary with puppets of his will
Look what he has done
Made justice a pretence
An imposture
A fraud
A counterfeit
A charlatan’s agenda
He’s looming now with deadly ambitious claws
Waiting to seize our way of life
Put it in his pocket
And rule us according to his own schemes
So Hitler lives again
Attila the Hun
Vlad the Impaler
Ivan the Terrible
And Joseph Stalin
All’s well that bends well according to a ploy
As freedom dies a tragic, painful death

**An expression said to be coined by Dickens in Oliver Twist.

Conscience

See that thinking soul
Acting in ways her conscience tells her to
Supporting the truth
And doing an unpopular damaging deed
For the sake of justice and integrity
What a burden it is
To do what’s right
In spite of punitive political norms
See too the punishment that falls upon her head
In response to her morality
Cast aside by her colleagues
Expelled by her leader
Pilloried by the sensational media
Ah yes
There is always trouble
For those who don’t comply
With the in mores of a given time
Such a deadly act
So reckless
So inappropriate it must be punished
So get thee to a nunnery***
Or place of similar ostracism
Says the captain of a ship
That sails only in an approved direction
Away with you
So you walk the plank of dissent
Into waves of despair
And sink deserted in your nonconformity

*** Hamlet’s words to Ophelia

Autocracy

A Contemporary Observation

Look at that!
Can Hitler be around still?
Or is it just his influence?
Do you remember his powerful exciting catch cry?
Make Germany great again!
How this seduced his pliable followers
Swept him into power
Not through democracy
Absolutism was his modus operandi
Destruction of opponents
All of them without tolerance or mercy
Political sway to one party
Obeisant judiciary
Acquiescent, controlled media
Allegiance to chosen foreign powers
Orchestrated, seductive oratory
Ah yes
How well savants remember!
How careful they are
How they fear repetition
All this happened to me the other day
I thought I saw a retelling
A recurrence of the ugly past
A savage duplication of a hunger for power
No
It cannot be
History enlightens
So this must have been a dream
Or was it a nightmare?

Plutocracy

Hey!
We can’t do that Charles
That mining magnate is so powerful
She’s a constant source of Party funds
We have to stay in her good books
Can’t afford animosity with the election coming up
It’s a crucial time
Yes
I know that storms, floods and fires
Are killing people
Rebuilding after destruction is costly
But I know votes are important
I know green ones are increasing
I know carbon has a bad name abroad
And increasingly here too
But we just have to hide the truth a bit
Pitch a story about saving the costs of power
That should get us through
Ensure our survival
Yes
I am aware of reality
In fact that is my motivation
Survival is the first principle in politics
So we must appear competent
Aware of practicality
As we make sure all her mines stay open
Don’t give me that bull shit Charlie
What in God’s name
Has the future done for us?

royciebaby

Monocracy In A Demonic Dystopia

Look at him
Obsessed with himself
Never wrong
And if he is punished for misdeeds
He declares an injustice
Blaming corruption as the cause of his inequity
Ah me!
Note how this narcissistic autocrat seeks power
Fosters fallacies
To make himself a hero
In the fairy tales he feverishly invents
He’s a master of lies
Cunningly focused to win popular support
A poseur par excellence
Seeking monocracy in a demonic dystopia
Ruled over by himself
He is effective too
This bland deceiver
Who courts followers with word and gesture
He claps himself and punches the air
Amidst a convenient declamatory crowd
Who wield ornate, florid, dramatic posters of hate
In harmony with the self-seeking disputes he creates
So successful is this beast who beguiles
That news bulletins tell his story constantly
Riotous screenshots of him stirring the doting mob
Endlessly fill the airwaves
Do you know this demon?
His name is so widely known
To all mortals save corpses in morgues
So you will not find that name here

Election

See how that despot cajoles the voters
In many cunning ways
Spreading his lies with unwavering flair
Posing as a victim of dreamed up villainy
Portraying the worthy as agents of evil
Deploring true justice as outrageous infamy
Threatening those who dare to find fault with him
Promising to pardon his criminal disciples
Bending many rules with fraudulent deception
Stealing the property of government authority
And displaying support for deadly rebellion
These wrongs he uses to serve his own ends
As the straight and narrow he cunningly bends
Watch him now carefully
Note well his words
As he gathers support
To set free jailbirds
So act his way then and cast your vote
Follow his lead
And wear his baleful many coloured coat*
Come along then in the hear and now
You captivated pawns
And take an obsequious bow
Let a dictator rule and control the world
Observe his cunning as he gets attention
By hugging that flag unfurled
Elect him now to end justice and democracy
Cultivate disaster and strife
In the form of this drone’s vile autocracy

*This is a biblical allusion. Joseph’s many coloured coat is a symbol of a number of things. One is that it is a sign of approval.

Racist Rogue

Look at you
Your words are fascistic
Your statements are nothing but xenophobic venom
Your turn of phrase breeds hate
Your vision is distorted by your political game-plan
Immigrants will poison our blood you say
O arrant fool!
Their face, their eyes, their skin may be different
But their blood is red, exactly like yours and mine
So I see through you now
You seek to profit by tapping into evil mores
You seek to exploit existing race-related repartee
You seek to ride the waves of prejudice
Thus you need to be exposed
What a tragic spectre you are
With your harnessed counterfeit fame
With what you say so unrelated to truth and justice
It’s unhindered power you seek
Unrestrained autonomy
Bestowed upon you
By the seduced followers who support you
To make you an approved oppressor
With the absolute power only a fascist can know
But heed this you vile would be oppressor
You darling of doom
You agent of anguish
You devil of deception
You torment of tragic woe
There is a voice abroad in the wind
It is only faint just now
But it comes from the children of reason
And will grow soon into a tempest of canonised truth

Cause And Effect

So
Those two university students
Have been expelled for publicly supporting Hamas**
In this our land
Where democracy and fair play are said to rule
That latest authoritarian deed
Bids farewell to freedom of speech
Of course
Terrorists must not be supported
But the solution to the problem
Lies clearly beyond mere condemnation of evil
Far more important
Is to cancel the effect by removing the cause
Why then
Do Islamist people rebel in Gaza?
The reason is a human tragedy that exists
An anguish
That would hold sway in any court of justice
So something has to be done
Palestinians are cursed in Gaza
Injustice brings death to a vast array of innocents
Heed me then you lords of academe
Work to end this deadly cause and notice the effect
Bring fair play to the ill-fated land in question
Let the innocents live
Strive to make human rights replace the tyranny
Then Hamas misdeeds
Will have no support from idealistic students

**Hamas, an acronym of its official name, Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement governing the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007. Source Wikipedia.

A Surprise

Rohan was a good character and pious
That’s what his name suggests in Persian
He was a very kind person
Ready with a helping hand if he saw the need
And church was his domain most Sundays
He loved walking, especially in the very fresh air
Of the tourist haunt Katoomba where he lived
So it was not surprising
When he stumbled across a solitary dog
Whimpering on an isolated pathway
In those Blue Mountains
He decided to lend a helping hand
“Here boy,” he said “what’s the matter?”
The dog continued whining and groaning softly
Hung his head
And looked sadly up at the mentor
Who reached out with a gentle hand to pat him
“Now then,” he said “life can’t be that bad
“Come on now, up you get”
Sadly the kindness had little effect
The troubled creature remained distressed
Indeed
Began to cry out with a powerful howl
Followed by what can only be described as a wail
Much to the distress of his would be friend
So Rohan picked him up and held him to his breast
That was when it happened…
You see this dog belonged to old Charlie
Who was suddenly noticed
Lying unconscious on a ledge below the pathway
And soon to be rescued by Emergency Services

royciebaby

Unwanted Relic

To a former prime minister

Get you gone
You have had your day
Your time as a manipulator of voters
That era of deception
That epoch of enrichment for your friends
Is nothing now but an ugly memory
Yet you once more are being noticed
Again getting attention
With your book
Concerned with your synthetic display of piety
Published and launched
In the land of get rich quick moguls
Giving you unjustified attention
In the company of a big shot former leader
Like yourself
A flamboyant echo of the past
You use once more in your quest for significance
Ay, there’s the rub
That notable enchilada
Gives status to your faded persona
And you are photographed together
A study of pretence
With a neat little storyline
Promoting future preparations
For that wondrous money spinner known as war
Thus we have two fading icons for the price of one
Two self-admiring drones courting each other
From the market place disguised as democracy
That threatens so many things we need and value

Ready Aim Fire

The deadly demise of civilians
Especially women and children
Is a tragic outcome
That guilty leaders must own up to
And a full enquiry will be held they announce
It is one of the outcomes of war
Yes, they may indeed be right
But it takes two to fight
So the guilt of conflict is forever shared
By each belligerent
When innocence is shattered
Or battle-lines are drawn
Without an infinite quest for peace…
Should negotiations fail
And bloody conflict ensue
The death of innocents is wrong beyond redemption
So heed me you sabre-rattlers
From the military industrial complex
We know who you are
Your names are inscribed
On your bank financial statements
Your ethos
Is suggested by the death notices of your victims
Your destiny
Is revealed by the awareness of true history
Come forward then
Blow your trumpets and beat your drums
Hide your guilt
On triumphant peace settlements
And praise loudly
The exceptionalism of your ruthless nation

Kind Hearts Are Needed

For A Schoolmate

Dear kindhearted friend
I notice you are beset by venomous censure
For your love of peace
I’ve heard this too in my life
A savage condemnation of my refusal to support
Deliberate violence that harms people
No, that tears them apart with hate and animosity
Please be not troubled by unjust censure
For yours is a noble spirit
Your willingness to listen to the words of both sides
To struggle without anger or even hate
Amidst any argument
To favour resolution without guns
And generalised hatred of another culture
You will always defy the hostility
The condemnation
The counterfeit righteousness
That justifies uncaring, unfeeling, callous conflict…
War is such a deadly thing
A solution without a problem
A sadly first resort
For the military industrial complex
So dear friend
Let your back stay turned
On hostility, enmity and concocted vendettas
Stay sharing instead
The power of wisdom, truth and love
Then
Give your critics a smile
It will be more forceful
Than all the weapons in the universe

Guilt Ridden Tempests

Fifteen people killed in deadly storms
It’s happened again
More and more and more often
Amidst ghastly destruction
Yes this is the season
Of tempests beyond reason
Caused by a profiting few
Whose deadly agendas come true
Despite the pain of the many
Who are they you may sadly ask,
These ghastly shapers of Earth’s destruction?
I reply with pain in my soul
That profit ogres have played an ugly role
In my life and yours down too many years
To thrust me towards the edge of tears
Climate lies still make a false impression
A deadly use of economic regression
Skilful word play creates invalid trust
As entrepreneurs kindle their lust
Vested interests still pollute the sky
This the governing yes-men refuse to deny
So heed me now you moneyed schemers
As you turn into torments the dreams of dreamers
Coal is brimstone for a witch’s brew
Gas is the killer tragic soldiers once knew
Fracking has led to a vast shale gas boom
But nature deplores it with warnings of doom
Oil is the foil of corporate giants
While Benedict Arnolds deny the science
So it’s once more into the breach dear friends
We must fight for validity ere our future ends

The Last Rose Of Winter

Hello Charlie
Why are you looking so pitifully sad?
Old age you say
You can’t do today what you did yesterday
Walking is painful
Your back aches
And your eyes are losing their acuity
Most of your friends are in their graves
Your wife is dead too
Hmmm…yes I’m receiving you
What’s that?
You’re a sportsman gone to seed
Once famous at football and on television
No golf now either
Too old to carry the bag
Retired from the work force of course
No longer a bank official
I’m with you
Your poverty, a sad echo of earlier riches
I understand
Yes, no car
No driving licence
A virtual social outcast
But Charlie
Surely there is something to bring you joy
A ray of sunshine, tell me
Is there one thing to change your so sad days?
Aha! Bravo!
Yes that’s it, in your winter of sadness
You’ve come back to the world with your blog

royciebaby

Student Loans

Student loans are a folly
An imprudence close to lunacy
Because
Graduates are essential
To the survival
Of every society
It is a tragic misdeed
To impose financial punishment
On every student
For dreaming of betterment
For daring to meet the challenge
Of learning in a needy world
It is also alas
Part of the free enterprise syndrome
The open market
The balanced budget disorder
That intrudes into everyday modern life
O yes
What fools
Leaders thus infected are!
How stupid!
How dunce-like!
How simple-minded!
For every new academic
Provides inevitable return
For the investment in her or his learning
New taxes
New purchase of goods
And, heaven forbid,
The occasional new discovery
That will enhance society forever

War Guilt

Killing innocent fellow humans
In warfare
Is never justified
There is no valid reason for any war
So
Ignore cunning combat discourse
Or even victory celebrations
Often a false narrative underlies the belligerence
Convenient crimes are attributed to the chosen foe
Lies so often follow to seal the deal
Then
Every command delivered with rage
Is a tragic example of poisonous guilt
So often linked to deadly ambiguity
With reasons given so rarely the only choice
And each time there is the beat of drums
The Gaza conflict
Is a cataclysmic event in my lifetime
The carnage and desolation chill my bones
That ill-starred land
Has become a lunar landscape
Fellow humans have nothing but stark wreckage
And tears
And cries of pain
And hunger that endlessly grows
There is no reason
Valid for such a situation
No excuse for the infinite suffering
The spiritual despair of so many innocents
So count me in you obsessed men-at-arms
I share the pain of the victims of your tragic deeds

News

Well now, here is the news
I wonder what has happened today
Is there another
Pedestrian in critical condition when hit by a car?
Knife assault at a shopping centre?
Woman murdered by her former lover?
Teenager drowned when swept from rocks?
Elderly victim of a flood?
Court case concerned with rape?
Car crash with four deceased?
Neighbour accused of hate crimes?
Father tried for killing his three sons?
Multiple homicide by cooking toadstools?
Police officers shot dead by terrorists?
Australians murdered in Mexico?
Mass drowning in rain and flood in Brazil?
What’s that you say?
No such headlines today?
Well then, that’s it
Such is life
So what is the news?
What events can you share with us?
Well
They have found a remedy for liver cancer
And
Global warming
And
Depression
And
For dementia
O my!
How boring!

Endings

Long
Have I wandered down the streets of life
My tattered old body
With its pacemaker heart
And aching limbs
Cries out in pain now when I walk
Time is not my enemy though
But my adjudicator
Telling me with a firm voice
That even kings traverse a road
That has a dead end
There’s a terminal destination for everyone
Yes
I can feel that in my aching bones
An ultimate prophesy
But my crumbling brain still keeps enumerating
All my struggles
All my soul-destroying failures
All my pathetic unfulfilled dreams
Yet here I am
Still breathing
Still beset by life’s problems
Still struggling determinedly to be wise
And
Still afflicted with my own infinite inadequacies
That is why
I now tell all who know me
Not to fret
On my final day
As then all the hue and cry
Will fade away like mists in the morning

Perchance To Dream

Dreamers have a place in the world
They are not obeisant to outdated customs
Traditions or practices
They see beyond the pall of conformity
And catch a glimpse of the far side
Of Gödel’s circle of entropy*
So many times
During mankind’s storyline
Someone has a dream of stepping outside
Our world of normality
So man has flown
So we hear a voice from the antipodes
So Armstrong has strolled defiantly on the moon
It is so easy to stay within worn out convention
To eat your food from McDonald’s or Hungry Jack’s
To watch a TV tragedy that sells you underwear
To delve into your shock jock’s mind for awareness
But waiting for you
If you care to look, is a fresh vision of a better world
A way of seeing things differently
In a new light
So your understanding startles you
Therefore listen to new versions of things
Occasionally
Give the innovator a chance to be right
And sometimes
I repeat sometimes
You will travel to an undreamed of destination

*Gödel’s incompleteness theorem suggests we all have a circle of awareness beyond which we falter.

royciebaby

The Market Magus

To all advertisers

The Market Magus
Haunts the Hills Of Shame
With diamonds on his fingers
Gold anklets on his legs
Ready to control your journey
Beware of him
For he has no mercy
No pity for guilt-free travellers
No care for pilgrims
He simply dares to plunder them
Every voyager in the Land of Plenty
Will find him intruding in your way
He is the master of mangling magic
Casting spells
That change the world as you see it
Conjuring forth images
That transfix you
Beguile you
Bewilder you
And lead you to his chosen destination
When you see him take care
For he is very cunning
A maestro of deception
A pundit of punishment for the unwary
A champion of one sided competition
So be on your guard when next you journey
Heed not his guileful words
Be ready for his sorcery
Stay firm on your journey
Choose your own destination
And watch him shrivel away to non existence

The Phantom Refugee

There he was
Like a wandering wraith
With a tattered bag slung over his shoulder
Walking down from the ancient hills of my land
I was amazed to see him there
For there is nothing but ocean
On the other side of those hills
As he came towards me
I noticed his face was alien
He wore a peasant’s hat
The kind you see in foreign farms
I bade him welcome
He smiled at me
Then spoke in language I did not understand
And kept on walking towards the town
Soon he was gone
And I returned to my work on the farm
Two days later, on Saturday
I learnt from my paper
Of a man who came to my land by boat
Illegally it was said
And I felt an overwhelming shame
For I knew this was not illegal
There is a law that has saved millions
Asylum sanctuary
By any means including boat
Is the internationally legal* right
Of all humans…
That ghost still haunts me now

*Everyone has the right to seek asylum and be free from persecution, regardless of how or in what country they arrive. Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 Refugee Convention 1951.

Time

Time
Einstein taught us
Is not constant
We the people
As sources of energy
Illustrate the great man’s notion
Of relativity
For all humans
All individuals on Earth
Each moment happens
At a rate unique to that person
That is the physics of it
But what of the psychology?
Aha!
Now that is an interesting question
Take the boring sermon for instance
O how slowly time moves
For that captive audience
But with the hunter in the hills
How quickly the deer moves to safety
A moment’s delay and a prey is lost
In Guantánamo Bay
Chronology is mutilated
There for the prisoners it no longer exists
And what of the past
The people and events
Influencing all that we do and think today?
Time is moderated by history
Which is what we have to influence the present
Without it
A Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Genghis or Attila
May well rise again and hold sway over us all

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar
In 44BCE
Was dictator perpetuo*
Soldier
Author
Politician
A schemer seeking power
Seen as a danger
That must be eliminated
Enter Brutus and Cassius
And others
Murder follows
A fitting end for a tyrant?
But wait a minute
Was Caesar a narcissistic sociopath?
Was his power an outcome of fraudulent designs?
Of lies?
Can there be another Caesar today?
An equivalent in modern times?
A contemporary tzar?
A kaiser?
An Commander Caesar?
An aspirant who can do no wrong?
Now that is the crux of this story
Giving rise to another question
Is there alive today a would-be leader
Seeking timeless power, absolute leadership
Endless control of others’ destinies
Who needs to beware of the Ides of March?**

*Latin: ”dictator for life.”

** The date of Caesar’s assassination: March 15, 44 BCE.

Weapons

Holden and Ford cars
We make no more
But protected mobility vehicles
We create aplenty
Bushmaster is the name
A four-wheel drive armoured machine
Designed by the people’s ADI*
In February ’44
Combat is such a handy spur for the market
Lucre! Lucre! Lucre! Is the battle cry
But who gets the money?
All our citizens no more
For in November ’99 ADI was privatised
Sold off to the rich and powerful
Who?
Why, the République française**
And now
They are sold around the world
To many foreign lands
But whence goes all the profit?
Why, to many foreign hands
Crusades are so lucrative
And the media play their hand
Girding all the loins up
Over danger to our land
So come on all you statesmen
Find someone to deplore
Get your bank files ready
And start a lucrative war

*Australian Defence Industries

**France

royciebaby

r

A Funereal Address

Much have I wandered
In the world of the living
Time is hardly a problem
There
For I am still alive at ninety
Yet pain ensues
As I was cast aside
To writhe in my own company
Memories are empty things
To those who leave me alone
Many long years of togetherness
Dissolve
Like allergy medication tablets in water
As I sigh
Softly in despair
And advise myself
That all bad and sad things pass
So there I am
Alone with my thoughts
Aware of everything
At peace with nothing
Until I realise
That mortality
Is common to us all
And that final extinction
Will come to me almost as a friend
So rejoice for me then folks
On an end to all the suffering
A last touch of change
That will draw to a close the pain
Undyingly

Common Destiny

That’s it then
I am cast aside
Like an empty cigarette packet
In a flooded gutter
That’s how I feel now
Swept to God knows where
By the sludge of life
I know I have failed so many times
To act with noble decorum
Or up to the minute awareness
But I have tried
Flawed as I was, I did my best
It was not good enough
So this failure
Has turned me
Into an empty unwelcome vessel
Alone
Tattered with age
Weak
Pitiful
Sorrowful
In the slough of despond
Battered
Longing for more company
But wait
Aha!
Yes, peace beckons,
Some time soon as part of the mortal crowd
I shall with dignity leave all this behind me
Forever

The Way Of Things

Well
That is the way of things
Time creeps up on you
Slyly
Suddenly
You realise
That your days are numbered
Your journey down many streets
Is about to end
Ninety years is more than most have
It’s a time of memories
If your brain is still working
All those friends no longer with you
Still comfort you
Metaphorically
Those enemies
Who no longer threaten you
Tap you on the shoulder
Metaphorically
And you find there is no one there
The few you have loved
Now that is the hardest loss
For they gave you a raison d’être
Made you see a world
Sans hostility
And helped you believe
You could do things well
Be glad when the sun rises
And not sad when it sets
All gone now
Time relentlessly wins
That is the way of things

A Call To Harms

Hey!
Where are you?
Can’t you see you’re needed?
You are so filled with your own importance
You’re away on your own business
Leaving me aged ninety
In harms way
With all my follies
My self pity
My longings
My narcissism
My desperate isolation
My lingering dreams still of a better life
All this is my reward
For my past interest in your destiny
My enduring friendship
Down all those years
Can’t you see what’s happening to me?
How my circumstances crush me?
How loneliness contaminates my life?
How I’m faltering in a world I’m soon to leave?
So where are you?
Come to me please
Give me your company
Your awareness of my needs
Your attention to my humour
Your worldliness that transcends my stupidity
So that in my brief remaining time
We can share laughter again
To dim the pain
So I can remain
In refreshing respite in your company

Consequence

I have
Always been
A bit of a dreamer
Filled with hope
When the going gets tough
It’s a funny thing that
Old age is the time of dreams
But the trouble is
Then they rarely seem to come true
Take me for instance
I’m ninety
Walking is painful
Confined to indoors
Apart from my loving wife
My only company is TV and YouTube
So
When Esther is asleep or away
I actually get lonely
That’s when the trouble starts
Not an ideal situation
And yet
You have plenty of time
To write poems
So hey there, all you friends
Who’ve discarded me lately
Left me to stew in my own juice
For such a long time
Caused my distress
Agony might be a better way of putting it
It serves you right
Your perfect punishment is this poem

royciebaby

Asylum

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free


The wretched refuse of your teeming shore


Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me

From “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus 1883

On the Statue Of Liberty

To imprison asylum seekers
Is a crime masquerading as necessity
Indefinite detention will make future historians wonder
Why racism flourished in our time
Habeas Corpus is a sacred concept
That must never be denied
People smugglers
Must never be a reason for endless imprisonment
Sanctuary and loving care
Must never be denied poor lost fellow humans
Shame! Shame! Shame
The Australian way with refugees is wrong
Is a disgrace
A disrepute
An infamy
A stain
That will forever remain
A dark and tragic flaw in our reputation
That cannot be undone by mere words
So stay silent all you excuse makers
You wrongful accusers of innocents
There is no queue that is jumped
There is no crime in boat travel for salvation
There is no justice if that for ever confines you
Now it’s time for a sea change
Set them free
Welcome them as part of our human family
Enjoy the transports of delight that compassion brings

No Problem

Cancer deaths are increasing
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
Many homes are burnt by wildfire
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
Half the poor are illiterate
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
Hospitals are short of beds, doctors and nurses
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
There’s a drastic shortage of houses
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
One in ten people in the world is poor
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
One in ten people in the world faces chronic hunger
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
One in four people has a decrepit home
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
500 species have vanished in the last hundred years
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
Outdoor air pollution has risen immensely since 1990
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
Chronic illness with obesity and diabetes is now common
No problem
Buy atomic submarines
That coercive industrialist fears losing corporate profit
No problem
Buy atomic submarines

The Forsaken Archetype

Hey there!
Oh no!
Heavens above!
Just look at what that would be leader
Plans to do with our society
Sack everyone who disagrees with him
Emasculate the legal system to save his guilty self
Deport all immigrants
Hit imported items with excessive tariffs
Deny women their right to control their own destiny
Foster oil and gas and coal to “drill baby drill”
Ban Muslims
Scrutinise federal employees with a new civil service test
Spurn and reject support for LGBTQ
Abolish teacher tenure
Terminate the Department of Education
Use the National Guard to prevent city violence
And take over the “dirty, crime-ridden” capital
That’s it then
A new era is looming
A vast change may soon be thrust upon us
A new kind of citizen, an archetype, now appears
He is white, obedient
A Christian who reads the chosen Bible
Hates foreigners
Denies climate change
Wears regalia in praise of the leader
And proclaims his membership of a master race
Look around you then
You will notice him because he is a flamboyant figure
Poised motionless now
At the gates of our earthly kingdom but yet afraid to enter
Now that’s funny
He is standing there not moving and suddenly silent
Is there a reason for this hesitation; yes I think there is
His brainwashing leader lost the election – again

Plausible Deniability

O My!
That seems so incriminating
Permission to build overwhelming tower monstrosities
That mutilate the landscape
Surround the city
And destroy forever a golden array of historic buildings
Just look at them
Rising ever skywards to do away with the sun
Why in heaven’s name was that approved?
What is the reason for that excrescence?
Who brought it about?
Now now, stay calm
Due process was followed with this massive project
Recognised procedures were followed
Endorsed by council meetings
With investigations by a committee
Confirmed by recognised distinguished experts
Due process was applied at the appropriate time
Owners of demolished houses were compensated
Traffic diversion was kept to a minimum
The new facilities were advertised
The project was blessed by media back up
Including praise of the new lifestyle
And public display of plans
Reinforced by advertisements praising the new lodgings
O and yes, by pecuniary support from the developer
Who did so much to launch the program

Id

Listen to him
Praising himself incessantly
Claiming everything he does is wonderful
Unmatched
Never before seen in the history of the land
Everyone who opposes him is wrong
Stupid
Evil
And note well this
His opponents
Are ruining the nation
Costly because of their incompetence
Imposing hardships on all
By ignoring his wondrous plans
That would bring comfort and joy never before seen
His critics are fools
Clumsy schemers
Dedicated to disastrous change
There he goes
Look at him
Responding to interviews
With sharp anger when criticised
And fairy stories about untrue achievement
Whenever the chance arises
Is this man brilliant as he claims to be?
No
Are his achievements great as he says?
No
Are his actions good for the nation?
No
Is this man an out of control narcissist?
Yes
Is his id a damaged source of all psychic energy?
Yes
Therefore beware
When the vital, decisive time comes
Do not, for any reason, vote him into power

royciebaby

Shock Jocks

Wisdom is a fleeting thing
Very scarce these days
Even though radio guiding lights constantly say they have it
They babble on interminably
According to the plan
Mouthing ultra-conservative blimpish discourse
As dictated by their masters
So advocates of social change are communists
The climate is not warming
Foreigners are flooding our nation
Selected countries threaten our borders
There, reactionary politicians are interviewed favourably
While advocates of necessary change are given short shrift
Take that fake but influential guru for instance
Words flow from his lips in a torrent
Violent repartee
Decrying virtue and condoning acquisitiveness
Or that other person of unwarranted fame
Leading her listeners
Towards condemnation of righteousness
They are so rich these obedient servants of greed
Rewarded greatly
For defaming chosen victims
Offensive they are
Deliberately so, and provocative
As they do the thinking for mind damaged followers
So the days pass for these prattlers
As they fill the air with claptrap, inanity, irrationality
Turning each day into a clatter of doom
They chatter on, pawns of their masters
Who pay them so well
That is the way of things in our present kakistocracy
There is only one solution
An answer to end the imbecility
The true way to change the tragic folly
It is education
The best remaining remedy to save humanity
So fund those schools and bring about the change now

On Defence

“War is a racket.” Smedley D. Butler 1935

So
You are investing in defence
Huge amounts
That means you need enemies present or future
Let me see then, where are they?
We have a current problem: peace has broken out
What can we do about that?
I know: turn to the media
Border protection is a nice term to imply a threat
Accounts of intruding ships is also an effective ploy
And you can set up treaties “To protect our way of life”
That’s a neat implied danger
Contrasting social systems are fruitful links to fear
Communism for the West is a golden potential danger
As fascism once was
Which leads us to history, so useful!
Bring on the war documentaries
Hitler is dead but lives on as an example of jeopardy
So too does Stalin
Then there are inventions: the latest triumphs of modernity
Atomic submarines; drones; supersonic aircraft
Wondrous triumphs we’ve got to have in case of war
Make them now
Be ready
Invest or you’ll be left behind
Conquered because of your deadly inertia

Weapons of war are big business, at times the biggest
So lucrative for a privileged few
And there is so often a market, somewhere
Terrorists get their weapons from someone
Ah yes! It’s a long, long way to Tipperary
But that’s where the money is

Xenophobia

Listen to her
Ranting against immigrants
Like someone from the Ku Klux Klan
What a tiny, distorted mind she reveals when she speaks
Carefully ignoring reality
To promote her own significance
Words for her are weapons of deceit
Beckoning the followers who vote for her
To build castles of pretence in the troubled air
Can you hear her?
The fraudulence?
The chicanery?
The cunning?
The craft?
She is a whistleblower with a tainted whistle
An orator from the dark side of the planet
A disciple of racist rogues
This person given the right to speak
By the bigotry of others
Who chose her to taint a public arena
She is today by her deeds in public
A harpy with a vicious condemnatory tongue
Her public life is marred by the ideas she spreads
That portray ruthless fantasy
Condemning innocents
Rigorously
Blandly
With total injustice
There she rages now
Creating headlines with her sinister statements
So remote from kindness
From justice
And from truth
That she colours her destiny with contempt
You ask me for her name
I decline your request
As a prelude to her future
For she will soon be forever forgotten

Election Trauma

There you are, it’s time to vote
And then to harvest the flowers
From the garden of lies
What a fake fanfare you are hearing
From the elected one
Conveying bogus humility
With counterfeit respect for the voice of the people
While the loser
Pretends to accept the decision of the electors
Gracefully
All fabrications these
The victor rejoices in the profit derived from fame
While the defeated one
Thinks next time he will need more ad money
Thus the wheels of government grind insatiably on
Leaving the poor and the needy, especially if they are old,
To fend desperately for themselves
If hunger is your problem
Or decent clothes
Or disablement
Or no home
Or age
Then write a letter to the moneyed corporation
That sponsors your local member
Tell them your problem
And then watch the help fail to trickle down
That is the way of things
If you have no ill-gotten gains in your present world
You are doomed to subservience
To desperate financial planning
To hardship without respite
To comfortless existence
To a struggle to endure
So think critically constantly next time you vote
Write letters to the editor
Condemning greedy lobbyists
Then demand virtue ruthlessly or writhe forever in pain

A Premature Eulogy

This life about to end has been a great romp
Learning has been slow
Mistakes have been many
Two lovers only, and they changed me for the better
Three children made me glad to be human
And teaching was my raison d’être
Sharing life at nine schools and three universities
For exactly fifty years
Twelve books I wrote, lots of poems like this
And some dealings with vanity press
Played soccer, rugby union, league and cricket
Two sporting blues won
Oh and I have three degrees
So there you see, quite a range of endeavours
With a ribbon of failures time kindly severs
Now what else do I need to say?
Well, I have an array of ideas to share:
As I’m a skeptic I now declare
I believe politicians rarely tell the truth
That political parties serve corporate masters
That privatisation’s a red herring for the few
That wise taxes are good for the world
That welfare’s more important than a balanced budget
That war is a swindle for a very rich few
That logging of rain forests is a curse
That indigenous people should be loved and respected
That nuclear energy should be used only for medicine
That climate change deniers have cognitive paralysis
That university scholarship should be free
That education and health out value atomic submarines
That without history we repeat and repeat our follies
That advertisements are sinister intrusions
That all the world IS a stage
Thus I am tempted to portray rage
But I hopefully dream of heaven above
So I choose instead to declare my love
As devotion to my children and my loving wife
Is the one pure joy of my divergent life

royciebaby

On Truth

It’s an ephemeral thing, truth
Elusive
Yet somehow an incitement when you find it
A way of seeing things
That gives you unexpected power
The confidence to think wisely
To influence people in a worthy way
And expose false prophets
You can be sure somewhere, some time
You will need it desperately
So often in life we are beset with chasms of deceit
Entrapped in webs woven by charlatans
Beguiled by cunning experts in dark duplicity
Seeking to lead you up often profitable garden paths
Take the adman for instance
Or an honourable member in the parliament of lies
Yes, that is the way of political things
In our world where advertised untruths reap popularity
And rumours start wars
Look at them selling things you don’t need
Look at them giving autocrats electoral control
Look at them vending destructive warmers of climate
Look at them conferring authority on cronies
Look at them selling with fake testimonials
Look at them cutting welfare to buy weapons
Ah me! It is so sad
To see so much abuse of reality
Ah me! It is so sad
To notice fantasy flourishing in so many places

Come on, all you trumpeters of falsehood
All you political prevaricators
It’s time for change
The hour of triumph for integrity has arrived
A new world beckons with capacity for veracity
So let Hades turn joyfully into nirvana
Now!

Hearing Aids

The silence is so stark when you lose your hearing
You suddenly realise how important sound is
Conversation becomes so difficult
So much information can’t reach your mind
It’s such a burden that soundlessness
You are so isolated
The world turns its back on you
Captions on your TV are a sole source of meaning
People are amazed when you fail to heed their advice
Ignore their wit
Or answer their questions
You begin to watch people’s lips
Lean towards them hopefully
And accidentally interrupt them mid-sentence
The music you love no longer exists
Sport becomes a voiceless media charade
A visit to a cinema is a waste of money
Giant planes fly overhead silently
Storms have no thunder
And the wind rattles your venetian blinds silently
Life suddenly is a challenge
As you struggle to understand a mysterious world
My hearing aids changed all of that
It was magic, that sudden revival of my ears
I heard birds again, such wondrous music
The love songs of crickets near my window
Accompanied my night
I shared wisdom and laughter with my friends
Found allies with common goals
Joined the teams I needfully respected
Shared my dreams
At times with laughter
Found again the company I desire
And my humanity returned

Dear Mr Trump

Dear Mr Trump
I am a little boy of ten
My Daddy says you are at it again
I believe you’re a smart man filled with glee
Who loves all people and longs to be free
Daddy says it’s definite proof we see
That you tell the truth just like me
You love to play games he also says
But you don’t like people who wear a fez
It’s a funny thing that as my teacher claims
We should love all people whatever their names
Daddy says too you have lots of money
Though the way you use it is quite funny
Sometimes you tell banks you’ve many a penny
But often they find you haven’t any
You’re such a clever man Daddy thinks
You can hoodwink a foe before he blinks
There are many fans who wave to you
And whenever you speak there’s a hullabaloo
I see on the news you have many supporters
Daddy says you’ve a wondrous way with reporters
He says you are powerful and reach for the skies
I’m so glad like me you never tell lies
I see you as tall, almost up to the ceiling
But Daddy said people accuse you of stealing
And he said we should drum some loud percussion
To boldly honour your bond with a Russian
Another thing he wants me to mention
You can cause a riot to get attention
And there are battles that you have fought
That land you so often into court
But all the world must see you as fair
So you pay smart lawyers to get you there
Now dear Mr Trump you are my hero
Daddy says if in Rome you’d be a Nero
I want you to know that I respect you
And Daddy says the dupes will soon elect you

Recollections

My world

I was there
When Hitler came to rule
I was there
When Roosevelt saved the nation
I was there
When Dillinger played the fool
I was there
When steam trains found my station
I was there
When Edward abdicated
I was there
When Stalin did his purges
I was there
When the Anschluss* was debated
I was there
When Freud defined our urges
I was there
When the Hindenburg caught fire
I was there
When kristallnacht was done**
I was there
When Churchill spread his ire
I was there
When Bradman scored each run
I was there
When Hiroshima was destroyed
I was there
When Armstrong walked the moon
I was there
When Margaret Thatcher was annoyed
I was there
When my existence was a merry tune
Yes I have seen so much in peace and war
And that was what my life was fashioned for

*Annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany: March, 1938.

** German, literally ‘night of crystal’, referring to the broken glass produced by the smashing of shop windows as the Nazis attacked Jews: November, 1938.

Hail Dictator

Ha!
So that’s your plan!
To get back into power by telling lies
So you claim to be an epitome
An unmatched thinker and orator
Everything you do gives you a place in the Hall of Fame
The best ever; never before seen
You hate foreigners
Say they poison our blood
When you are punished for a crime
You declare yourself a victim of political intrigue
You make friends with tyrants
And claim to have them eating from the palm of your hand
You deride savagely all your opponents
Creating fictitious flaws that are derogatory fairy stories
You claim an inalienable right to do as you please
Even to kill
You steal government pamphlets and call them your own
You bribe corrupt contacts to protect your image
You post damaging evidence on social media
You falsify business records to hide hush-money
You surround yourself with splendour to seem supreme
You fling free objects into the crowd to fake generosity
You style your hair for sham elegance
You proclaim nonsense in the guise of wisdom
You cast aside allies when their usefulness fades
You bend the judiciary to suit your schemes
You talk about blood baths and advocate violence
And you bellow before rabble like Stentor of old*
Thus you rise in popularity
Your status grows according to your plans
All seems so well in your camp
But the emperor has no clothes
Yet you look headed for tragic success
Sieg Heil!

*Stentor was a herald of the Greek army during the Trojan War.

royciebaby