MONEY – Thoughts for a Chancellor

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has just pronounced on the future of the country in times when the majority of the population find themselves in considerably strained financial circumstances . Perhaps a few thoughts occasioned by a reading which I quote from from: ‘The Funny Side – 101 Humorous Poems’ – edited with an introduction by Wendy Cope, will strike a chord with many of us . . .

It is from the American poet, Richard Willard Armour (July 15, 1906 – February 28, 1989)

That money talks

I won’t deny.

I heard it once,

It said, “Goodbye”.

Richard Armour also once wrote: . . . “Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.“

2. Three ‘Political Celebrity’ CLERIHEWS

A Clerihew is a comic verse consisting of two couplets and a specific rhyming scheme, aabb.  It was invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956) at the age of 16. Normally the first line names a person, and the second line ends with something that rhymes with the name of the person. (From: ‘Shadow Poetry’)

Winston Spencer Churchill,
Man of many a skill,
Became our leader in conflict,
And ensured that Adolf got licked.

Tony Wedgwood Benn,
Unusual among men,
Gave up his birthright title
For one simpler and more vital.

Farage and Boris Johnson
Did something rather awesome;
They led us via Brexit
To that famous EU exit.

Thoughts on POTUS

POTUS

It’s POTUS this and POTUS that

No one knows where we are at.

Is it Don or is it Joe,

Will we ever really know?

Surely the people have had their say,

That no one can gainsay.

Yet still he whines, like a mewing pup,

Will someone tell him his time is up?

The Farrago Choice

Photo by Ikon Republik on Pexels.com

It’s a farrago, a hotpotch,
Call it what you will;
Choosing never did attract me,
I am counting chickens still.

For lately I have lost all faith
In making a prudent choice;
I’ve given up decisions,
Conscious I’ve lost my voice.

It fell apart whilst doodling,
It lost its wobbly way;
I never could abide its cheek,
Its soul was out to play.

For when it comes to choosing
Between two guilty factions,
I’d rather plunge my head in sand,
Yield, then bemoan my inactions. 

Some may think this refers to my given right to vote in all elections . . .  They may be right!

BREXIT ???

 

Euro? … EU? …  Eee You?
Let us hear your point of view 
You know, don’t you? . Last of the few.

Brexit ? …  Brexin ?  …  Brexout ? 
Let’s shake dem votes about. 

 

We’ll do the 
‘Yes Sir – No Sir’
In, Sir… Out, Sir
I say – you say
We’ll pay – they’ll pay 
Good deal – Bad deal
Some deal – No deal

So then, why not? 
Let’s vote again
As we did that summer
Yes, let’s vote again
As we did that year
Just remember when
We were younger then
Make us think again
All might not be in vain
(Though if we abstain
Will that dull the pain?) 

People’s Vote or Final Say?
Junker or Teresa May?
Talk of Backstops and red lines
A hundred thousand million times
Border hard or border soft
Must keep the Euro flag aloft
(Mine’s the Union, Jack!) 

Yes, let’s vote again
‘Cos that’s Democracy –
And we do like to vote
For that’s Bureaucracy
Then maybe let’s do it yet again
Long live Hypocrisy
So that Government
of the people,
by the people,
for the people,
Will be given birth
And shall not perish from the Earth.

Yes, that’s what it’s all about!

PC or Not-PC?

“To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them.”

From Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ – Act III, Scene I..

Thoughts on Seeing, Fleeing and Being Politically Correct

( Pace tua Wm. Shakespeare ) 

 

To see, or not to see: that is the question : Whether’ tis wiser to look it full in the face, or, to turn that blind eye, which is the kiss of ineptitude, and by ignoring, forget them.

To flee, or not to flee: that is the question : Whether’ tis safer to meet with danger face to face, or, to turn and run, and by escaping, live to flee another day.

PC or non-Pc: that is the question: Whether ’tis better in the end to put up with the hawks and sparrows of mind distortion, or to take umbrage against such hubble-bubble, and by exposing suspend them. 

  

 

 

‘Do You Know These People?’ – Five CLERIHEWS

Five CLERIHEWS

Johann Sebastian Bach
Played his spinet in the park …
Till the ‘St Matthew Passion’ 
Went out of fashion.

Teresa May
Will still have her say,
When Brexit is over
She’ll barricade Dover.

That man, Donald Trump,
makes journalists jump,
But his late night tweet
Is their bread and meat.

Andrew Lloyd Webber
Was so very clever;
When he composed ‘Phantom’
He made ugly men handsome.

Kim Jong Un
Is full of fun,
But his braggadocio
Will end in atrocious woe.

[ . . .  WELL – you try to find a feminine rhyme for ‘braggadocio’  …   No, I won’t allow Pinocchio … or Tokyo ]

NOTE:   A CLERIHEW is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley.  The first line is normally the name of the poem’s subject, usually a famous person put in an absurd light, or revealing something unknown or spurious about them. The rhyme scheme is AABB, and the rhymes are often forced.  (Wikipedia)

False News – Three Haiku

Three Haiku on the subject of False News

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Speak to me the truth

Fake News is wholly evil

It hurts both our souls.

---

 “Post-truth” gives the lie

To honesty and fair play

Spurring false witness

---

Exaggeration

Heralds uttering falsehoods

Hold fast to the truth.

---

 

MONEY

Design … WHB – 2017

(Poem No.32 of my favourite short poems)

MONEY

That money talks

I won’t deny.

I heard it once,

It said, “Goodbye”.

By Richard Armour

(Quoted from: ‘The Funny Side – 101 Humorous Poems – edited with an introduction by Wendy Cope.)

Richard Willard Armour (July 15, 1906 – February 28, 1989) was an American poet and author who wrote more than 65 books.   Two of his best-known quotations are . . .

Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long,
has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.

 Beauty is only skin deep, and the world is full of thin skinned people.

Hot Topic!

UK … Thursday June, 8th 2017

Our Prime Minister, Lady Theresa,

Gifts us a mild anaesthesia.

She seeks a man-date;

Her husband’s irate.

Asks why one man’s not enough to please her!