Do you vote in political elections?
Political elections?
Is there another kind?
Elections are we little guys’ chance
To influence who wields power.
Democracy’s not perfect
But the only chance we get
For else power comes from out of a gun
Or who writes the biggest cheque.
I’d like to see some changes
More influence for my vote
But will I exercise it?
You can bet your life I will!
What is your favourite drink?
Welcome Mr. Putin
What’s your favourite drink?
Never mind the rubble
It’s all good real estate.
They’ll talk about invasions,
War Crimes, body counts
But hey we’ve got no time for that!
Pour yourself a drink.
We are men of business
We can do a deal
Forget the moral compass
Let’s top up your glass.
Forget about the locals
Let’s get to the bar.
They’ve no need for enemies
With friends like USA.
We are men of business
We can carve things up
Lots of easy pickings
This is just the start.
How have your political views changed over time?
I once distrusted the EU
A bureaucratic mess.
Rules and regulations
That really made no sense.
Subsidies to farmers
To benefit the French
Germans in the driving seat
Or so it seemed to us.
We came late to the party
Were always on the fringe
Played the awkward partner
And constantly complained.
But come the referendum
I found my views had changed
The world is much too complex
For us to go alone.
Climate, immigration, terrorism, crime
These are problems for the world
That won’t respect our borders
And cant be solved alone.
Then there were the populists
Who pandered to our fears
I did not trust the lying words
That came from such as these.
Wealthy politicians
Whose wealth was held offshore
Wanted out of the EU
Before a change of law.
They blamed all immigration
On free movement, the EU
But folk are slowly finding out
That they weren’t told the truth.
Our farmers and our fishermen
Thought they knew the score
But they got what they asked for
And they aren’t rejoicing now.
Workers in the factories
Europe subsidised
Bit the hand that fed them
Common sense defied.
They say my generation
Betrayed those who are young.
But you can count me out of that
The Brexit vote was wrong.
The world is so much smaller
Than how it used to be.
We‘ve Portugese and Finns and Swedes
We call our family.
Most of us now understand
We got it badly wrong
But politicians dare not tell
The voters they betrayed.
We‘ll never get so good a deal
It’s too hard going back
But we must stay close to Europe
Nothing else makes sense.
What are you most excited about for the future?
Maybe there’s a future
Maybe things can change
Maybe Keir’s a decent man
He’ll do just what he says?
Had enough of populists
Divisive ruinous men
Who profit from our predjudice
And look out for their friends.
The ones who set the rules for us
And different ones for them.
Have firmly been defeated
And won’t be back again.
We won’t be made false promises
Of things we can’t afford
But governed carefully, sensibly
For longer term reward.
An end to foolish gimmicks
Plans that can not work
Forget planes to Rwanda
Just make the system work.
Let’s have an end to privilage
And men from public schools
A cabinet that’s more like us
And understands our lives.
We hope they‘ll mend the NHS
Although there’s no quick fix
They’ve run it down for far too long
We need men we can trust.
We don’t trust politicians
But maybe they can change?
They say they’ll rule for all of us
Let’s hope it goes to plan.
From an original version published on the eve of the Brexit vote.
Hurrah for Little England
She cast herself adrift
Say goodbye to Brussels
We’ll head into the mist.
Don’t know where we’re going
The captain’s overboard
But we won’t be ruled by foreigners
Or people from abroad.
We’ll resurrect our Empire
They’ll surely want us back
So it’s goodbye to the future
We’re turning back the clock.
No need for foreign factories
No need for all those jobs
For life will just be perfect
With all the foreigners gone.
We’ll reclaim all our colonies
Take America back;
Canada and New Zealand
They’ll surely all want that?
Goodbye foreign subsidy
That’s not what we need
Londoners will pay for us
Let’s let London bleed.
Goodbye banks and bankers
We don’t need city jobs
Life will just be perfect
When Britain’s on its tod.
It really should be easy
Why the awful fuss?
Those beastly Europeans
Make it hard for us.
It’s really not your business
We won’t obey your rules.
Why do you think as customers
You have the right to choose?
The floods break in; the waters rise
Can fiercer climate be denied?
Storms will lash; they have before
And yet the warmer clouds hold more.
We feel the rising disconnect
The peoples’ sense of discontent.
Who knows their will? Who rides the storm?
Who parts the waters; can perform?
The rising tides will not relent
Till crumpling waters force a rent.
The dam can’t hold, it’s washed away.
Who rides the storm? Can save the day?
Andrew Green's Poems 