Where were you?

Remember this day, this was the day that lib dem conference voted against a motion to drop the NHS bill.

Where were you the day another promise lay broken,
When the spectre of care for the few from slumber has awoken,
Where were you the day they traded honour for this bill,
A sniff of power corrupted reasoned mind,
They do their masters will.
Where were you they condem-ed a dream,
Did they ring the bell?
For if the NHS lies dead in theatre,
It’ll drag you too to hell!

Tags: #libdems #nhsbill

Spin

We all like to spin,
all the time we like to spin,
some like to spin a yarn,
some try to spin straw into gold,
all the while an illusion,
in the head,
no golden thread.
Some spin the fate’s thread,
yet I will spin my own instead.
Some spin a tapestry elaborate weave,
many colours too complex,
designed to deceive.
Yet I will spin a loincloth,
pure and simple,
honest to believe.
So will coloured cloth fade and fray,
Or will it last instead,
For some stories lie fragile,
Hanging by breakable thread.

Tags: Spin

Fight for something

As the people of Syria continue to suffer under the brutal repression of Assad, this poem is dedicated to those across the Arab world who have stood up and potentially face death for freedom.

Fight for something

This past year I’ve people fight for something,
not for fame,
not for earthly riches,
nor plasma screens,
notes of printed green.
I’ve seen them fight and die for something more,
To face dictator after dictator,
Amongst the shells of Homs, to the streets of Tripoli,
To stand up for their dignity.
I’ve seen these people bravely rise,
Bravely make the sacrifice,
To stand against the fist of tyranny,
To stand and face death for liberty.

Tags: Arab Spring, Egypt, libya, poetry, Syria

Without Love

Who are we without love,

Souless,

Without an ounce of compassion,

Without a hand ready to help those in need,

Who are we?

Who are we without love?

What are we today if we ignore those who suffer,

If we turn away,

With a heart so cold,

Who are we without love?

Who are we without love,

If we don’t give second chances,

Second glances,

If we don’t reach out our arms to comfort others,

If we lambast, lampoon, mock, condemn,

I ask again, who are we without love?

Holding back the waves- #dropthebill

Nurses, midwives, many people and now Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home are now against the NHS bill. So when will ‘Canute’ realise he cannot hold back the waves of opposition and drop this bill?

The tide is rising,

Discontent,

A wave of disatisfaction building, building out to sea,

The tide is rising,

Building hour by hour.

The people are speaking, using their power,

Foolishly he sits upon the shore,

As the distant waves continue to roar.

Canute why try to hold back these waves,

For these waves have a will and will sweep you away!

National Library Day

Today has been National Library Day, a day given added significance in the light of library closures occuring due to the government’s relentless cuts. Dan Jarvis MP has tirelessly battled to save libraries in a time where they have faced a more uncertain future than they have for decades. As a writer myself, I fully appreciate their importance and I write this poem as a protest and call to save many people’s only access to books and reading.

The Library’s Closed Today

Library’s closed today,
Alice isn’t in wonderland behind bars,
Knowledge too high a price to pay,
The library’s shut today,
An order from on high says so,
No journeys to Narnia,
No flick of Harry’s wand,
No Pinocchio,
Yet in the Palace some noses still grow.
The library’s shut today,
The wardrobe shut forever,
Knowledge, culture a price too high to pay.

Big Ben

Big Ben is leaning say the engineers,
they say it has been for years,
you may not notice from a distance, but get closer,
You can see cracks in the wall,
You can see the lean if only look critically,
If you get closer.

Big Ben is leaning they say,
how do we make it straight I pray,
Experts, MP’s scurry,
Holding meetings in a hurry.

Big Ben is leaning, what are we to do,
Cracks are appearing too,
Foundations are rotting away,
How do we make Big Ben straight again,
Straight again today?