YOU ONLY GET WHAT YOU ASK FOR SO BEWARE OF ASKING FORNOTHING

07-05-2007

The local elections saw the usual pitiful turnout across the West Midlands, with three out of five voters staying at home. The Stirrer’s resident poet Brendan Hawthorne puts an X against the apathy Party.

Politics is being sold as a toothless pup

left whimpering in spin spun policy mires

nothing ever changing, down or up

nothing much to sing about or to be inspired

Parliament dallies on its foreign policy

at home it fairs no better

courting failure and controversy

when representatives couldn’t get much Wetter

Whatever happened to the spirited speeches

of individuals with intelligent resolve

inspiration from the far back-benches

on which strength and change could revolve?

Those grey suits need to stand up for communities

the building block backbone of this nation

instead of dealing with their own egotist impunities

and courting social condemnation

Our local elections have once more returned

showing poor turnouts and endemic indifference

though for some public respect has already been earned

whilst others follow with naive acolyte deference

And now the figures are in they tell it all

Missing are those forgotten free-speech martyrs

missing are the crosses in boxes in council halls

now full of socio-economic welfare departers

NHS dentists are in decay

education and industry are reduced to profit

people moan in the streets and feign dismay

if only we’d all voted we could’ve helped stop it

Protest abstentions can be taken two ways

and as you know these days we have to be quite clear

By doing nothing we won’t alter their ways

any damage to our rights is beyond Joseph or Maria

Left too weak to dance and not loud enough to sing

those elected decision makers forget their grassroots

and yet none of us can hear those warning bells ring

for the sound of marching free-market hob-nail boots

Copyright Brendan Hawthorne 2007