Category: poetry

Dead Heroes Are No Use to Anyone

Dead heroes are no use to anyone
But let’s be clear:
No one deliberately denied them what they need,
They just weren’t competent enough foresee
That it’ll happen here if it’s happening next door
And we don’t make our own stuff here anymore.

Dead heroes are no use to anyone
But let’s be clear:
They frequently turned a deaf ear
To talk of contingency planning
But they employ a great sloganeer
And you can all see it happening:
A failing government labelling you a hero
Because they’re getting it into the public’s head
Before they have to tell them that you’re dead.

But let’s be clear,
Dead heroes are no use to anyone.

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Matt Hancock’s Magic Wand

Matt Hancock wishes he had a magic wand
So he could make PPE fall from the sky
Care homes deluged and hospitals bombed
With gloves, gowns, goggles and no one asking why
That last week he said PPE was plentiful
The only problem was that it was in the wrong place
And we were being far too sceptical
All we needed was to give him some space
To find the right warehouses, but did he get it wrong?
Was the PPE really in the sky all along?

mirrir

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Today’s Press Conference: It’s Working

Eight hundred and sixty-one dead today: it’s working
A badge for care workers, but they have to pay: it’s working
Nearly fourteen thousand in total died: it’s working
The wrong sort of ventilator specified: it’s working
The media discussing austerity: it’s working
The NHS run like a charity: it’s working

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(Untitled – 14th April 2020)

Therese Coffey
Says there’s loads of PPE.
She doesn’t understand why lots of doctors disagree.

While Eamonn Holmes on ITV,
Ridiculously,
Won’t rule out 5G.

And if they’re not culling the herd
But flattening the curve,
Why are the real figures not preferred?

Because it turns out care home deaths don’t count.
So, what really is the full amount?
What’s paramount?
Public relations, public health or a profit and loss account?

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He Is Risen

He is risen
Like a loaf of bread
Like Jesus from the dead
From his ICU bed

He is risen
Like a hot air balloon
Turns out he’s not immune
The blond buffoon

He is risen
Like a head of steam
His dad said
He’s taken one for the team

He is risen
Like every virus measure
Like your blood pressure
When you got his letter

He is risen
But he’s not the messiah
He won’t take you higher
Don’t you wish this was satire?

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Robert Jenrick

Wouldn’t you expect
The Housing Secretary
To have more than one house?
It must be very
Confusing
Which one you’re supposed to be in
When you told the rest of us
To be disciplined.

Wouldn’t you expect
The Housing Secretary
To have more than one house?
In fact, he has three:
One in town,
One in the country,
And one in his constituency.
So, when he said “don’t travel to your second home”
He left travel from your first to your third alone.

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The Government Pecking Order

While the prime minister is indisposed,
Here’s the government pecking order, disclosed:

It goes Johnson, Raab, Sunak and Patel.
So now we’ve got Raab, ‘cos Johnson is unwell.
And if Raab goes down, Sunak gets a spell.
And should Sunak lose his sense of smell,
Fourth on the list is Priti Patel

So whatever your position on the PM’s condition
(There’s little to applaud about his hospital admission
Save a salutary lesson about the virus’ transmission
And recognition of the position of the nurses and clinicians)
Michael Gove must ponder on his omission
From a list that doesn’t bode well:
Johnson, Raab, Sunak and Patel.

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Bog Roll v. Guns

The Brits are buying bog roll while the Yanks are buying guns
They’re shooting at each other while we’re wiping our bums
But you can’t kill the virus with a bullet from a gun
And it might make you cough but it don’t give you the runs
We’re two nations still divided by our common tongues
The Brits are buying bog roll while the Yanks are buying guns

 

bog roll v guns

 

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Nurses! Never Forget

By April, thiry-six thousand cases
And countless thousands more left untested
By April, over three thousand dead
A number that’s at least less contested
Among them, four doctors, but what’s worse is
The government forgot to count the nurses

Matt Hancock, in the weekly news round-up
Confident he’s got his numbers down
Until a question he did not expect
Reduces government minister to clown
Under his breath, the statistician curses
The government forgot to count the nurses

Each Thursday we gather on our doorsteps
With pots and pans and hands to give applause
For the selfless sacrifice and devotion
Of the real heroes of this cause
A chanted admonition in our verses
No government should ever forget the nurses

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Tell ‘Em We’ll Test ‘Em Tomorrow

Tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow, Matt
Tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow
Gove’s conferences fell quite flat, Matt
He won’t be a tough act to follow
And Boris promised ‘em millions, Matt
But he ain’t got much truth left to borrow
So tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow

Tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow Matt
Tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow
The Mail are beginning to turn on us, Matt
And that’s hard for us Tories to swallow
Tell ‘em the Germans have got all tests, Matt
While our industry laid fallow
And tell ‘em well test ‘em tomorrow

Tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow, Matt
Tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow
We know that they’re needed right now, Matt
And so do the WHO
Tell ‘em there’s no point in blame, Matt
Do a cover up job for the shit show
And tell ‘em we’ll test ‘em tomorrow

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