In place of fear

 

Antibiotics – magic bullet to cure infection,

Stop bacteria in their tracks and give you protection.

But there’s a snag, a flaw, a hitch – which Darwin foresaw,

As bugs divide and conquer, they will have the last hurrah.

Drugs are not a panacea for every malady

They kill microbes, of course, but no permanent remedy

Exists. The bacilli that survive, can go on to thrive

Evolve, go forth and multiply. Our drugs only drive

Evolutionary pressure; the stakes are ramped higher

We need to use our brain power to put out this fire.

But Big Pharma has no interest – driven on by greed

Companies focus on the bottom line, not what people need

There is profit in drugs which customers keep on taking

Statins lower cholesterol, and keep the money flowing

A molecule tweaked here and there will give me a patent

Without any of the effort,  none of the investment

To design new medicine, which will soon be obsolete.

In a vicious circle, adverts feed demands of Wall Street

Viagra perks up profits, antidepressants numb pain

Of misery and debt, and so we turn to pills again.

There’s no money to be made in developing new cures,

So infections will run riot and weeping, pus-filled sores

Will once more be the norm. Evolution runs its course.

There is no sticking plaster, let’s address the root cause.

Nationalise the drug cartels, take profit out of the equation

Good health, without brainwashing, or chemical salvation.

Our NHS must be restored, to meet our common need,

It was built to cure disease, not to fuel bosses’ greed.

 

 

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You can read some more of my poetry in ‘Little Red Poetry’ (£4 pbk, £2.50 pdf e-book).

All proceeds go to build a new party for ordinary people, against cuts and privatisation. 

Copies are also available from Left Books

Tags: advertising, antibiotics, antiibiotics, disease, medicine, nhs, poetry, Politics, socialism