A poem written very quickly, mostly on the train to London this morning. It’s good, I think, to capture feelings as they arise… a sort of personal historical record.
Election Day
Morning breaks on this day of election
When all good people will make their selection
On icy pavements they trudge to polling station
Across towns and cities of this divided nation
And even in the village halls
The duty of the ballot calls
A task that merits neither pay nor elation
And by the evening we’ll be none the wiser
First to know is tomorrow’s early riser
Counting will continue throughout the night
When candidates no longer need to fight
For that prominent place in history
Actual results will still be a mystery
Until the counters have counted right
We are told this process will our futures fix
Despite the deceit and the dirty tricks
For many years there has been no other
That has divided friend, even sister from brother
With different visions of a single truth
Distinction made between age and youth
Separating children from father and mother
By questioning what some have said and done
The democratic process may well have won
In examination of every fault and flaw
Of decision taken behind closed door
They played as if to win a game
Leaders in the past were not the same
This election must teach us so much more
More about the changes we need to make
No politician allowed our own laws to break
Let there be no place for political lies
No space for media who dare not criticise
For without truth there can be no just decision
No indignation nor rightful derision
Electors, now, must become more wise
A wisdom not purveyed by the party elite
Nor confined to the rooms of Downing Street
The will of the people should not be defined
At a cabinet table where the blind lead the blind
We must find a way to remove our trust
From those who only for more power lust
And make a system made for all mankind