The tomb of the unknown poet

[Best read slooooooowly. Like the Telegraph business page]

The Wealthy have never been so rich
screams the Sunday Telegraph
from Monday’s stinking ditch
as Public Sector staff
gain battlefield promotions
and secondary duties
to demonstrate devotion
Sacrificing well-being
to the Noble cause
while being attacked by the Media
to deafening applause

So what’s happening?

The Rich are recovering Edwardian status
and reintroducing The Poor
- after a brief hiatus

From a distant High Water
the tide has departed
and left us on the strand
to rot like kelp and bladderwort
where we once made our stand

So we watch television
complain of being bored
as Governments slash billions
from budgets we cannot afford

Why?

Because it’s a sin to raise tax
required to pay the bills
Redistribution of wealth
is held persona non grata
the pervert uncle
deemed not good for maintaining family health

So we disenfranchise ourselves
elect celebrities
fill our time with sport and soaps
and wonder what became of our hopes

Stupefied by blurring
of fact and entertainment
blind to what we’ve become
Unaware of truth and its estrangement
intellectually unhealthy
the People’s Voice has been struck dumb
Victory to the Wealthy
Vivatis in pace

And what of The Church that heralds itself
the Saviour of The Poor?
whose Princes shoo the scruffy Beggars
from their Palace door
while deciding what’s affordable
in alms for the needy
Hail the Holy Roman Empire
(incorporating Anglicanism)
The Church of the Greedy

Through the power of State and subterfuge
they formed us into an orderly queue
to receive the Body of Christ
Body of Christ
Body of Christ
obscuring in smoke and Mystery
the life of a man who loved The Poor
and covering the trail in theology

The followers stand in awe in the aisles
to watch the Holy spectacle
of Sceptre, Orb and Cross process
with Kings and Queens of earthly excess
while God proclaims that
suffering alone will bring Salvation

So The Rich are surely damned?

I doubt it
for The Church has blessed its Patrons
with The Wealth of Nations

And where went the Revolution?

Mired in Mammon and disillusion
that’s where
Caught in paranoia and greed
the Revolution has spilled its seed

The Project let the workers down
who in turn failed the Project
No one walks the old Shop Floor
for they’re all Middle Class
even when sweated and shown the door
The Worker is gone
struck from the Lexicon
as Terribly Crass

It seems we forgot the suffering and strife
and now we’ll reap the reward
when The Poor are no longer worthy of life
the troublesome put to the sword
in a world where only Property speaks
Wealth controls the word

So the struggle begins anew
with anger and spilling of blood
to relearn what we already knew
but chose to forget for good

For we failed to commemorate
those that lie contorted in the mud
where they fought for the freedoms
we failed to guard
squandered and misunderstood
We climbed the ladder
improved our pay
until we believed we were better than they
But will we have to admit one day
that pride always comes before a thud?

And now slick presenters perform
on behalf of vested interests
to whom they must pay their dues
But the audience is absent
being entertained
or some might say subdued
and nobody’s seeking answers

Ignorance
as our forebears knew
is the worst malignant cancer
…
“Who controls the past controls the future” (Orwell, “1984”)

© Kevin Buckle 2012