Tick Box
I got a job
in education
the contract required me
to tick a box
to promise I would
‘Uphold British Values’
and do nothing to undermine them.
I ticked the box and
a sickening bell tolled in my gut
There was no definition of what was meant;
surely we all know
it is wrong to wish to undermine
colonialist projects
the grinding machines of late Capitalism
the exploitation of any divide
so the bond markets thrive
Children came to school without breakfast
had job opportunities with county lines
but we never said Churchill was a racist
or questioned if the Paras were terrorists
so that little box worked just fine.