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Bigfoot
BIGFOOT
I woke up this morning
Sooty footprints everywhere
In the kitchen, on the patio
In the bathroom, on the stair
There were footprints black as carbon
Hanging heavy on the air
And the paper lying on the mat
Said “Bigfoot’s here. Beware!”
…..Bigfoot’s eyes
…..Are on the prize
…..And never mind the cost
…..If we don’t cut him down to size
…..And soon
…..Then all is lost
Now I thought Bigfoot was a myth
It seems that’s not the case
And he’s not just in the U.S. now
He’s all over the place
He’s hosting feel good TV shows
With a big grin on his face
And there’s no escape from Bigfoot
He’s already up in space
…..Chorus
Bigfoot’s running factories
Churning out miracle pills
Bigfoot’s running colleges
Teaching vocational skills
Bigfoot’s got a master plan
For curing all our ills
If you see Bigfoot heading your way
Don’t panic, head for the hills!
…..Chorus
Bigfoot’s in the shopping mall
Signing up recruits
Handing out Rolex watches
And free Armani suits
Opening concessions
On all the major routes
Something tells me Bigfoot’s getting
Too big for his boots
…..Chorus
The government keeps on talking
About how much they care
The subject’s global warming
… Or is it just hot air?
The thing they really care about
Is Bigfoot’s market share
But Bigfoot paid for the election
So I suppose it’s only fair
…..Chorus
I eat apples from South Africa
Drink coffee from Peru
Drive a brand new 4 by 4
And collect the air miles too
Hey, why worry about this stuff
When there’s nothing you can do
My carbon footprint’s through the roof
And I’m a Bigfoot too
…..Bigfoot’s eyes
…..Are on the prize
…..And never mind the cost
…..If we don’t cut him down to size
…..And soon
…..Then all is lost
DADT (1994 – 2011) – A Villanelle
DADT (1994 – 2011)
Welcome to one Private’s unprivate personal hell
Let’s drink a toast in honour of Benny
Shot through the heart by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
A spiteful, misbegotten fear cloaked in a pious shell
Let’s drink a toast in honour of Denny
Welcome to one Private’s unprivate personal hell
Discharged to stop them tainting other personnel
Let’s drink a toast in honour of Jenny
Shot through the heart by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
There’s no marker on the battlefield where they fell
Let’s drink a toast in honour of Kenny
Welcome to one Private’s unprivate personal hell
Just to speak their love’s name was to rebel
Let’s drink a toast in honour of Lenny
Shot through the heart by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
They understood prejudice only too well
Let’s drink a toast in honour of Penny
Welcome to one Private’s unprivate personal hell
Shot through the heart by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
——————————————————————
Twin Towers
TWIN TOWERS
They went on and called
The World Trade Centre
The Twin Towers
Despite Tolkien
Despite Tolkien
Despite Tolkien
They went on and called
The World Trade Centre
The Twin Towers
They didn’t do irony
They honoured profit instead
Even in their hometown*
Morgoth and Sauron, Saruman
Shiny windows, shiny cars
Shiny lives
And to them malice only existed
A world away, when somebody
Usually with funny coloured skin
Dared to get in the way
Kiss of death
September the Eleventh, Two Thousand and One
Business as usual, a bright sunny day
Suddenly all that certainty and security gone
A truly impolite awakening, for sure
A quite rude awakening in fact
I worked out from way back
Not to keep saving drowning people
Better to sort out the villains
Who were busy dumping them in
And laughing
So I spent the morning, then the afternoon
Sure it would arrive, claiming responsibility
Just three words – Enough Is Enough
Yours sincerely, Oxfam
Big disappointment
——————————————————————
* “But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” (Mark 6:4)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s tough to counterpoise hot-button issues with rationality.” – Russ Baker
Please note that this poem is not intended to imply any disrespect to the people who died when the World Trade Organisation buildings were destroyed, nor to the many thousands of people who have been killed or had their lives disrupted or destroyed as a consequence. This poem is not about Al Qaeda. It is not about the high impact of an instant “terrorism” attack but the slow motion obscenity of induced poverty and starvation. So while all that light is being shone today on what we are expected to concentrate on – the events at one particular place on one particular day thirteen years ago, here’s another little spotlight on the same events, but from another perspective on what the World Trade Organisation represents and its impact on the suffering of not thousands but millions of people all over the world every day.
“As we move deeper into an age of misinformation, disinformation, and superfluous information, maintaining our collective memory will more and more depend on honest information brokers; storytellers, journalists, investigative reporters who pursue a story with a passion and hunger for truth.” – Bill Berkowitz
“We use the madness to separate the events so that we don’t have to recognize the politics they have in common. The madness of each individual act enables us to distance ourselves from the politics that burn under the polite society we’ve created” – Bill Berkowitz
“Why, in a world that produces more than enough food to feed everybody, do so many – one in seven of us – go hungry?”
– Growing A Better Future: Food Justice In A Resource-constrained World
(http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/growing-a-better-future-010611-en.pdf)
Dissent Is The Only Decent Response
Oct 12
Posted by Ben Naga
DISSENT IS THE ONLY DECENT RESPONSE
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
This world is run by lies, by greed and fear and trickery.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
Everywhere is conflict, bigotry, racism and sexism.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
“They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace –
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.”
“The life of the poor and the life of the Queen
When looked at in contrast both seem quite obscene,”
Says Alice. “I may know, but I do not approve.”
~~~~~ ~ ~~~~~
This is part of Reena’s Exploration Challenge #108
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Posted in Poetry
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Tags: Bigotry, Disaffection, Fear, Greed, Injustice, Lies, Racism, Sexism, Social commentary