The Protesters (after Walter De La Mare)

“Leave coal in the ground!”, said the protesters,
Surrounding the colliery door.
In their ranks, horses’ hooves stamped in anger
On the hard, asphalt floor.
And a cry rose up out of the protest,
To the pit-head, lying still.
They crashed against the police a second time
To bend them to their will.
No workers descended down into the earth
No lamps ventured into the gloom.
Maggie, in her wisdom, shut down the pits,
Starved the spirit of the NUM.
But the host of courageous miners
Who picketed, struck and fought
Stood listening to the speeches of Scargill,
To principles which could not be bought.
Stood in solidarity with each other
And although the struggle was lost,
Still inspire good trade unionists,
Regardless of personal cost.
And while the threat of global warming,
Is real, important and true.
We still remember their sacrifice,
So that we can build anew.
For hands that dug coal can shape blades,
Make turbines, solar panels, harness nature.
As we leave fossil fuels untouched,
They can propel us into the future.
But we can’t do it under this system
Capitalism has to go.
Put an end to the rule of profit
Decisions should be made from below.

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You can read some more of my poetry in ‘Little Red Poetry’. All proceeds go to build a new party for ordinary people, against cuts and privatisation.

Copies are also available from Left Books

Now Maggie’s Dead

Is this the extent of our democracy?
Infiltrating the pop charts, with a protest jingle
A snippet of a single on the radio?
While the Munchkins were censored,
And the shipyards of the Clyde lie silent,
Wyatt still sings Shipbuilding,
With a will to instill
Decency. Diving for pearls,
Not dear life.

It’s nothing personal, you understand,
I was as eager as anyone
To pull on a Maggie’s Dead T-shirt
Put together a CD of anti-Thatcher tunes
And celebrate the big day.
I just hate Tories and all their ilk,
‘Cos she stole our kids’ milk.
And as she lay in state in the Ritz
Pensioners are dying in their homes, when they lived through the Blitz.
Victims of fuel poverty, privatised energy.

But in New, Blue Labour, Thatcherism’s still going strong
Is there really all that much to rejoice? Once the song
Ends, and you’ve drank one too many, gloating Ding Dong The Witch
Is Dead. Then the hangover begins: tax cuts for the rich,
Lost jobs, empty factories, homeless on the streets.

I was seven when she came to power in 1979.
My great aunt, with old memories of the general strike
Said the unions wouldn’t stand for it.
I’m still waiting.

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I will be performing some of my poems at the Donkey pub, on Welford Road, Leicester on the 3rd October, 8pm – saying ‘Goodbye to Thatcher’. The excellent KGB Jazz and The Splitters are also playing, and Bali Rai will also be reading. Tickets available here – http://www.ents24.com/leicester-events/the-donkey/kgb/3486723. All proceeds go to City of Sanctuary.

You can help build an alternative to Thatcherism and support the Socialist Party by buying a short book of my poems, ‘Little Red Poetry’:

On the day the statue of Thatcher was unveiled

The news spread fast – by squawk, coo and twitter.
From far-flung forests, fields, farms we flew
Synchronised starlings swept across the sky.
Geese arrowed in a gigantic V sign,
Militant seagulls cried out in anger.
Pigeons propelled by powerful pinions,
Herring gulls, guillemots, gannets, goshawks,
Gathered in Grantham to give up their guano.
On the day the statue of Thatcher was unveiled.

We circled high until the ribbon was cut.
Joyously drenched the assembled dignitaries,
Perched on her handbag, shoulders and hairdo,
Covered her from head to foot in our ordure.
The acid will eat into the bronze
Dissolve decades of double-dealing and deceit,
Will break down her memory,
Just as she broke our communities.

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I will be performing some of my poems at the Donkey pub, on Welford Road, Leicester on the 3rd October, 8pm – saying ‘Goodbye to Thatcher’. The excellent KGB Jazz and The Splitters are also playing. Tickets available here for £3 – http://www.ents24.com/leicester-events/the-donkey/kgb/3486723. All proceeds go to City of Sanctuary.

You can help build an alternative to Thatcherism and support the Socialist Party by buying a short book of my poems, ‘Little Red Poetry’:

Little Red Poetry

Any regular readers of the blog might want to know that a collection of my political poems is available from Lulu for £4 in printed form, or £2.50 as an ebook (in pdf format). Click here to have buy / look at a preview –

All proceeds from the sale of the chapbook, will go towards the Socialist Party to help us campaign against cuts and austerity.

I hope you enjoy reading my poems and that it inspires you to get involved and join the fightback.

For anyone visiting Leicester, you can also hear me perform some of these at ‘Farewell to Thatcher’ on the 3rd October (supporting KGB Jazz and The Splitters), 8pm, The Donkey (pub), Welford Road – £5 / £4 entry – all money raised goes to the City of Sanctuary, a charity which helps refugees and asylum seekers.