Poet's Corner

THREE LINE WHIP

25-08-2008

The Stirrer's poet laureate Brendan Hawthorne celebrates freedom and liberty after discovering that councillors in Sandwell are facing an expensive inquiry for airing an opinion and the views of the voting public on the Public arts centre - a story first aired on The Stirrer (see link here)

The freedom of speech

lies bleeding in a litter-lined gutter

Kicked shamelessly to the ground

by happy back-slapper propaganda

Those departmental shadows with hidden agendas

wish to curb civil liberty by

obtaining accusatory-finger CCTV footage

Sound-track it using state-of-the-art

eavesdropping devices

and then monitor the results

through contracted-out third parties

who appear eager to snuff out

the spark of creative individuality

like some cruel overbearing parent

jealous of gifted unruly offspring

who now need putting in their place

once and for all

before an open challenge is made

to gain the controlling whip hand

Personal opinion sits

slumped in the closed doorway

of a shut-down community centre

Occasionally it’s prodded to see

if there is still life left

in the old dog yet

Waiting for the time

when Doctor Spin can come along

and throw it a spiked bone

and share a few crumbs from the junket

before spouting cash-driven cure-alls

and we did that years ago wisdom

And by utilising inquiry-led cutting edge clarity

a registered and witnessed attempt to

make headway with popularity indicators

can be recorded by showing faux compassion

and a shallow understanding

of its own acceptance

of public opinion and satirical intelligence

Constructive criticism is barred

Banned from all public arenas

because the management

reserves the right to call time

on sensitive issues that are swept under

the political shag pile

or kept in a locked up cupboard

of filed away unmentionable failures

And so it seems that our electoral privileges are

that we are not allowed to speak out

We are not allowed to air personal views

And we are not allowed to question

any panic-led initiative put before us

And if we dare to

it won’t make any difference

to the predetermined outcome

This state of democratised autocracy

is wearing thin and maybe one day

we should all ponder upon the concept of

how all these rights could be so desperately wrong

Copyright Brendan Hawthorne 2008