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GRATITUDE

GRATITUDE

 

I suppose I should be grateful,

Be happy and be bright,

Think best of my surroundings,

Rejoicing in the light.

 

But as I look around me,

I find no cause for glee,

It seems the whole damned universe,

Is bearing down on me.

 

I can’t avoid the taxman,

My Council is a pain,

And now our whole society,

Is singing that refrain.

 

I park my car in terror,

With the warden walking by,

I can’t afford the parking fine,

‘Well maybe that’s a lie’.

 

The Tour-De-France is coming through,

Some politic delight,

No access to my own home town?

I hardly think that’s right.

 

Of course from down in London,

This parliamentary way,

Has led me up the garden path,

Is leading me astray.

 

I voted for these ‘honourables’,

My civic duty called,

That’s why I’m now so angered,

And why now so appalled.

 

The Bishops in their palaces,

The Baron in his Hall,

Do they feel my disgruntlement,

And do they care at all.

 

Of course not and why should they,

These privileged don’t care,

Rise up the middle classes,

That’s if we really dare.

 

First barricade each chamber,

Lock out the mighty few,

Like Churchill smoking Woodbines,

We’ll show them what to do.  

 

But then I’m just a dreamer,

Hyperbole my trade,

This nation I complain about,

Exactly what I’ve made.

 

◄ SCRAPS

Twilight Hours ►

Comments

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John Coopey

Sat 20th Jul 2013 23:11

Good to see you embrace the personal responsibility at the end, Ian. It amuses me so much when folks bleat about the stuff going on around them and don't recognise their own role in it all.
A friend of mine who lives in York was bemoaning that a corner shop near them had been put out of business by the opening of a supermarket nearby. I asked if they shopped there. No, she said; they used the supermarket!

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Harry O'Neill

Sat 20th Jul 2013 16:06


Ian,
The class consciousness of that `Like Churchill smoking woodbines` would on its own banish you from the ranks of the genuinely
proletarian protestors.

You`ve got to get a bit of heat into it!

The rhyming (as always) is good.

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Starfish

Thu 18th Jul 2013 21:13

Enjoyed this very much. Agree with the sentiment and loved the rhyme.
Best Wishes
Starfish

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M.C. Newberry

Thu 18th Jul 2013 14:08

At least, like the "Tour", it's a case of
once in a while (voting them in or out).
I'm a fan of the bike race and admit to a
partiality about its appeal.
Clearly, the worthy burghers of Yorkshire saw
something worth having...a certain je ne sais
pas, mon ami.
Love the resigned downbeat tone though and
have a sneaky sympathy with the views about
where the money goes.

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Ian gant

Thu 18th Jul 2013 10:46

As Background our Local Council ' North Yorkshire' bid for the Tour-De-France and got it.
In my samll area they are spending £1.6 million on the road as it runs to our market town but can only find £900 for capital works in my village. 'Yes' I am pissed off with the Politicians who say the TDF is good for the region especially when it starves or villages But Hey-Ho I voted them in.

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