The Power of Poetry
with things falling apart
and anarchy let loose,
it was only poetry, he found,
which had any use,
so he reached for his copy
of The Complete Works of Yeats
and bludgeoned the President
of the United States
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I gather that the line “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;” was recently used in a speech to justify world domination but the following line was omitted:
“Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,”
To finish off your Yeats poem:
The President replied ‘Boys will be boyce
Bilston likes Yeats, while I prefer Joyce!’
Good morning, Brian,Gre
As a matter of interest, was this brilliant poem perhaps inspired by listening to Jesse Armstrong on Desert Island Discs, saying he would use his Norton’s Poetry Anthology to squash a mouse? Thanks again, Your loyal fan (one of the many)
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It wasn’t but I’ve been meaning to listen to that. The pen is mightier than the sword and the book is mightier than the mouse.
and the Award for the most thoughtful use of Irish poetry in a crucial international supporting role, in an emotion pitcher or comedy goes to the one and only, the Bard Brian B https://share.google/FM4XjcoJoLrJPY8cV
Ha ha!
AH! If only! Thank you for making me laugh and think of new positive possibilities for getting through reading or listening to the news ~ especially world affairs. (Such as they are.) Brilliant!
Thank you!
This is hardly poetry. Let’s call it- Unleash the Doggerel of War.
WE THE PEOPLE FEEL THE SQUEEZE
You may have heard it said,
And this is more than a rumour
That the City of London and the mega rich
Act like a cancerous tumour
They suck our blood
Which does us no good
They act like a parasitic worm
Does that make you squirm?
They have influence and persuasion
Money offshore and tax evasion
Private yachts and Private jets
How loathsome their self indulgence gets?
Huge contribution to global warming
They sound ghastly and revolting.
We, the people, feel the squeeze
Polluted rivers and polluted seas
Crumbling schools. Failing NHS
Hungry children. Failing services
Unaffordable rents and houses
Unmended potholes in our roads
Time we were protesting.
Time we were revolting.
The government won’t act to clean up this mess
Because they are in the pockets of the rightwing press
Because they are “brain washed” by investment banks
Influenced by antisocial neoliberal rightwing think-tanks
Directorships, consultancies, lucrative bungs as thanks.
It’s time to legislate a change
It’s time for an economic rearrange
Government get off your grubby self-interest knees
Please, please, please, please listen to our pleas
Release us from this inequality economic wheeze
And economic porkies told by Rachel Reeves
Do something about this economic sleaze
Because we the people feel the squeeze.
I subscribed because of this poem. Maybe not the best use of Yeats, but it cheered me up no end. Thank you.
ps. I like that you use WordPress. So do I, just learning. You set an example. Thank you.
Thank you, Monica. I’m glad it had that effect on you. Good luck with WordPress. I’ve been on here for 10 years and I still don’t quite know what I’m doing.