I wanted to write a poem to review the year and express some of my feelings about current affairs. In the end, it was less review and more feeling, in a bit of a hip hop style. I would love to hear someone with the right tone of voice rip this one out.
2016 has been a difficult year
For reasons not entirely
Related to the seasons.
It began with politicians
On the stump, Bernie,
Hillary, Donald Trump,
And even though they said
His nomination would be
A disgrace, an abomination,
The Donald left us bitter
With a campaign that
Spewed out across Twitter.
They were still saying
He couldn’t win the prize
As results from the Rust Belt
Proved otherwise. Next morning,
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
This man is a joke,
A belligerent oaf,
All that remains
Is the audacity of hoping
That in future we’ll be able
To turn the tables on these
Populist fables and fairy stories
Spread by Republicans,
Tories and those who chant
Divided we stand,
And who talk about
The homeland as being
Some kind of a fort.
But if you succeed only
By making others fail
That isn’t strength;
It’s just building a jail.
And how can this be
Preferable to a society
That revels in its diversity?
Old, white men who rave about control
Are ripping the soul out of
Our children’s future,
Hoarding the wealth needed
To suture the deep wounds
In our unity, the bedrock of
Any vibrant community.
How are we strong when
We retreat from the world?
It must be wrong to focus
On all that’s fake,
The malicious make believe
That claims colour,
Creed and sexuality
Must differentiate
When, in reality, all the hate
Could be blown away
If we taught our children
To avoid religiosity and
Embrace the world
With curiosity, open minds
And open hearts.
I may be a dreamer,
But it would at least be a start,
What man has brought together
Let no god tear apart.
How bad must it get before
We start treating orphaned children
Better than our pets?
Devotees of the ‘Daily Mail’
Words fail me to comprehend
How you can condemn migrants
Fleeing famine, disease and the
Vengeance of tyrants.
The man who fell to earth
Once sang ‘Under pressure
We’re cracking’, but now
It’s the soundtrack
To yet more fracking,
The unbearable cost of nature
In despair. How much more
Can she bear? If the earth is
In tatters, surely this is the only
Breaking point that matters?
I confess this is not the verse
I meant to write, a review of
The year, nothing more, but
It would seem trite to talk
About popular culture as
Ancient civilisations fall and
The President-elect speaks
Only of walls. Sixteen
Going on seventeen;
The sound of muted optimism
Is the the best I can do
Looking through the prism
Of the year to come
Knowing that so much
May be undone.
I wish for happier times,
With more laughter than tears,
Less false news, far fewer memes
May the coming year seem
A less disfaraging place than
This old one has been,
**** you, 2016.