Thus I Wrote

One to the east
And one to the west
The world spins
On some new quest
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

America is lost
Broken in two
Republican selfishness
Breaking anew
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

China arises
From its slumber
Values are questionable
But can’t ignore numbers
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

Europe straining
Between two poles
Holding centre values
Taking its toll
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

Britain a wrecking ball
Breaking away
A barking dog following
Republican America
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

100 years ago
Similar words were said
As wars ravaged
And many were dead
Are we turning into
New conflicts to behold
Things fall apart
The centre can’t hold

How did you justify
Stealing and killing
From those who own
But are unwilling?

You used religion
And science to say
They are below you
In made up ways

And now you use arrogance
And discrimination
To control equals or betters
Even in the same nation

Jokes are used
Hurtfully…
To hide behind
Insidiously…

And statues are used
To glorify the pillage
They poison the nation
& weaken it with spillage

The spawn of public schools
Like Eton & Harrow
Brutal and shameless
Monsters of sorrow

But inherited wealth
Can’t be repeated
Change must come, cos
The future can’t be cheated

The past can hold back
Or help evolve to find
New ways that include
New ties that bind

They have no shame
Because they are taught to be so
Fair play is for the many
A controlling show

They have no boundaries
No rules they follow
Under their act
Inside they are hollow.

Norms and convention
Are no shackles for them
Decency and humanity
They abuse again

Holding power is all
Using any culture war
They keep friends near
And others far

They hide in plain sight
They are a rich elite
They blame others
To distract from this deceit

There’s a fall
In democracy
There’s a rise
In autocracy
I look to the future
But it’s closed to me

We’ve grown
To 8 Billion strong
Doubled in 50 years
That’s not long
I grew in that time
But I’m only one

Relatively it’s been
A season of creation
A spring after winter
Such co-operation
But this can change
Winter lurks in rotation

It’s just a fairytale
But you preach “It’s right”
It’s just a fairytale
But you insist “It’s right”
I think on the whole
It’s about power and control
It’s your tool for evil rule and “It’s not right”

We’ve learned from many teachers
Who believed what’s right
And they learned from many teachers
Who believed what’s right
Like them we took the best
And we discarded the rest
Because we need a modern view of what’s right

There are many things still wrong
On the road to what’s right
There are many things still wrong
On the road to what’s right
But as a democratic collective
We can be much more effective
To serve and to do what’s right