Ship of Fools

When the man with the badge
Relishes the power that it gives
When the man with the spin
Forgets that its paper thin
When the man with the capital
Condemns the one with little
When the sanctions take a bite
Into those who most need care
When the law plays lip service
To faded colours of privilege
When a redefinition of welfare
Is used to profiteer on the poor
When a chance of revolution
Is re-enacted to sell Christmas
When we charge our children
For what we received for free
We’ve stumbled off the map
Into an unfamiliar country
Pretending the words we use
Are somehow fixed to things
Like this ship, that shore
Like home, like us and them

Bob Beagrie  lives in Middlesbrough, has published five collections of poetry to date and is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Teesside University.