Stuart McFarlane
Gaze on Gaza
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Gaze on Gaza; and weep.
See the child in A and E,
the child, alone, in A and E.
See the man who stares,
the man who only stares.
See the woman who screams,
the woman who only screams.
The bloody bandage, discarded limb,
the blasted street, all rubble.
Thick smoke billowing; low down
a tepid sun that strains to shine.
See another bloodied child,
the mother who still screams,
and a father who only stares.
See what may not be unseen.
Try, if you can, to avert your eyes.
Gaze on Gaza.
Gaze on Gaza. And weep.
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At the time of 'Apartheid' in South Africa
On the TV a bloke said that he would not be prepared
to support the fight against 'Apartheid';
would not be prepared to sacrifice his job
for the sake of some blacks in some far away country.
His tone was indignant.
He made it sound like a principled position.
'After all,' he argued. 'it's their own fault.
Why didn't they build up their country?
Why did they need white men to do it for them?
Why did they let themselves be oppressed?'
He seemed intoxicated by his own questions.
He hadn't realized he was quite so clever.
'Because they haven't got it in them. That's why!
Not like us whites!'
He was getting into his stride now.
'We went over there and, in no time at all,
made the country what it is today.'
The microphone moved on now.
He had had his moment in the sun.
That was his opinion. He was entitled to express it.
And in a way, of course, it was true.
We have made the country what it is today.
It was difficult to argue with the grim logic of his argument.
If it was not for the oppressed there would be no oppressors.
If it was not for the victim there would be no murderer.
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An interview with the PM.
Interviewer:
' Prime Minister, your party has been in charge of the country for the
last 14 years. By any measure, nothing has got better. In fact, not to
put too fine a point on it, things have got irredeemably worse.'
PM Sunak:
'I don't think that's fair.'
Interviewer:
'You dispute the facts?'
PM Sunak:
'Not the facts. Just the way you express them.'
Interviewer:
'Perhaps you would like to express them in another way?'
PM Sunak:
'Well, if I may explain. We have had to confront the Covid pandemic,
the terrible war in Ukraine. Above all, we have had to cope
with the most incompetent government in recent history.'
Interviewer:
'You mean your government, Mr Sunak?'
PM Sunak:
'Certainly not.'
Interviewer:
'But you are the prime minister of the government Mr Sunak?'
PM Sunak:
'That's not entirely true.'
Interviewer:
'Perhaps you could clarify?'
PM Sunak:
'I am the prime minister of the current government. I have only been
in power for under two years.'
Interviewer:
'You bear no responsibility for what happened in the previous twelve
years.'
PM Sunak:
'Thank you.'
Interviewer:
'That was a question Mr Sunak.'
PM Sunak:
'You are referring to the governments of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss?'
Interviewer:
'I am.'
PM Sunak:
'I cannot be held accountable for the mistakes of previous incumbents.'
Interviewer:
'But you were the chancellor in the government of Boris Johnson?'
PM Sunak:
'I'm not sure that's relevant.'
Interviewer:
'It is true, however.'
PM Sunak:
'The fact is I have had to deal with a legacy of incompetence from
previous Prime Ministers.'
Interviewer:
'Previous Tory Prime Ministers.'
PM Sunak:
'If you insist.'
Interviewer:
'You were handed a poisoned chalice.'
PM Sunak:
I'm glad you agree.'
Interviewer:
'That was a question Mr Sunak.'
PM Sunak:
'Let me be crystal clear. I have tried my best in extremely challenging
circumstances. Let me tell the British people now. I do not
underestimate the task before us. I will work day and night; will do
whatever it takes. I will not cease to strive to make our country great
again!'
Interviewer:
'So, I'd like to sum up Prime Minister, if I may. It seems to me that
your election strategy is to ask the public to judge the record of the
Conservative government on the last two years. Namely, your tenure in
office. As if the previous twelve years did not, in fact, ever happen
at all.'
PM Sunak:
'I think you sum it up perfectly.'
Interviewer:
'Thank you Prime Minister.'
PM Sunak:
'You're welcome.'
​
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Stuart McFarlane was born in 1954. He has spent many years, both abroad and in the UK, teaching English. In the UK this mainly involved teaching ESOL to refugees and asylum seekers. He is now semi-retired and so can devote more time to writing poetry. He has had a few poems published in local magazines and in online publications such as Borderless Journal, based in Malysia, and Culture Matters, based in the UK.
By any other name
Now the school of semantics is fully enrolled,
we begin to believe the lies we’re being sold.
‘Proportional response’. ‘Collateral damage’.
‘It’s a situation we feel we can manage’.
Politicians, as ever, so sensible,
queue up to defend the indefensible.
The Israelis freely act without constraint.
The Americans continue to urge restraint.
Schools, housing, hospitals; all are destroyed,
yet, still, euphemistic terms are employed.
Artillery posts now even have trouble
finding a building to reduce to rubble.
And, as Gaza withers, festers and rots
the diplomats tie themselves up in knots.
‘Not a ceasefire, a humanitarian pause’.
Treating the symptoms, not the underlying cause.
But Israel miscalculated, and crossed a red line,
in denying the idea of a Palestine.
For an idea does not so easily die;
all the dead children of Gaza so testify.
How can the fighting now ever cease?
There’s not the faintest prospect of peace.
By conducting such a senseless war
they've only ensured centuries more.
You can justify anything, if you try hard enough
but, deep down, do we realize, it’s all so much guff.
So, don’t pretend, as you kill, wound and maim,
it's not murder; by any other name.
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Work
It's strange; about work, I mean.
You work for a number of years
and potential employers are impressed
by your substantial experience.
'You're just what we're looking for.
An asset to the company.
Welcome on board.'
So you work a few more years,
and all that experience just
keeps accumulating.
Till one day they call you in,
say how sorry they are
to let you go;
how, despite all your years
of experience,
now you're just
too old for the job.
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Promises
You told us it would change,
you said soon it will get better;
but the sky is even darker now.
'You must have patience, friends.
I really am not a magician.
Things will get better.
You'll see, in days to come.'
So many, they are homeless now,
more and more are out of work.
still we seek a new dawn.
'You must be patient, I have told you.
These things take time.
But they will get better, I promise.
You'll see, in weeks to come.'
Women are dying in doorways,
they are starving in the shadows;
the night's as black as ink.
'You must be patient, you really must.
What more can I say?
Things will get better, believe me.
You'll see, in years to come.'
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The chickens come home
First Michael Gove; and now John Redwood.
See them all falling, just like ninepins!
Busy clearing out all the deadwood
before it even really begins.
At this rate there will be nobody left
to fight the looming election.
Look in vain for an MP with some heft!
Now what a blooming selection!
Sunak hails a 'new generation.'
Thatcher's son, or even daughter.
All primed to galvanize the nation;
just like lambs led to the slaughter.
So, each new day, another one quits,
offering the public some lame excuse.
The rope round their neck no longer fits;
they managed to wriggle out of the noose.
The scandal is they're free to walk free,
after the havoc wreaked on our land.
Prison is where they really should be,
to stop them making another stand.
Meanwhile, Sunak takes to the radio,
peddling a medley of his 'greatest hit'; (singular)
hard to sum up what he says in one go,
save to say, our rivers are full of it.
At last they get what they truly deserve,
as the chickens come home, their fortunes dip;
it is so satisfying to observe
all the rats deserting a sinking ship.
thistles stretch their prickly arms afar
Militant Thistles