Song To Those Waiting In Hope (Poetry)

It is too many years since laughter rang
Across the shires like bells and people sang
When Hope was their religion and their stay
Before these anxious lives men face today

What happened to bright promises once made? —
Hardly said before their glow began to fade
Just pretty lies to get the winning vote
They’re all the same — all wear the traitor’s coat

They care not for the poor man on the street
A dog has bones while they have tender meat
The working man is mortgaged to the hilt
The rich man has his castle walls rebuilt

While every day the latest gang of fools
Pass more and more of freedom-curbing rules
Like power-hungry vampires they survive
By sucking blood from every man alive

Except the old boy network — the elite
Of industry and commerce sitting sweet
And dealing most invisibly and sly
As friends in office turn their blindest eye

Too long Joe Public has endured the sham
Of governments who do not give a damn
About the commoner and his concerns
Their only interest is in what he earns

And how much they can rob him of — and quick
Before he ages or becomes too sick
Becomes a burden on the Welfare State
Since Pestilence and Plague hang round the gate ...

These days are drear but Hope is not yet dead
There’s discontent abroad but light ahead
Enough’s enough — the tide will turn at last
And men will rise — restore those good times past.