Price of Democracy - Diane Scantlebury

The vocal majority angry and aggrieved,
Voted with their feet
And wanted to leave,
Tired of the ‘haves’ patronisation and hypocrisy,
They took back the power
This was the price of democracy,

Persuaded by tactics
Of the lowest denomination,
Fear and xenophobia
Divided a nation,
Promises made, promises broken,
Fragmented Britain
The people have spoken!

Diane Scantlebury

House Of Cards - Richard Fleming

A house of cards is bound to fall:
it’s insubstantial after all,
and so it shall

The UK card’s the first to go:
that will disturb the status quo.
It must be so.

Merkel and Germany are vexed.
The Undecideds are perplexed.
Will France go next?

Richard Fleming

Stillness - Julian Clarke

Why chase the stillness
when the feral mind runs wild;
inhale, accept, exhale, be free
body still, body quiet:

take these precious moments
for they're yours
for you alone,
relax in the stillness of being.

Julian Clarke

The Wailing Boat - Tony Bradley

Wail on, sail on, you prophets of doom
all you can see is despair and gloom
why not build another Ark, with plank and tar
In your whirlpool of ignorance, you won't go far.

Yes, we devour Earth's resources, as soon as we find them
we crash, and trash, and make a mess
but all the while, the boffins are working
rest assured our offspring will progress.

Complete myth, that it's just modern man
who's abused the earth, and made it bleed
we've been spoiling things, since we came out the trees
our two main instincts, survival, and greed.

Yes, we wastefully devour Earth's resources
we crash and trash, and make a mess
but all the while, the boffins are working
so, rest assured our offspring will progress.

Tony Bradley

Binner - Kathy Figueroa

Cans, a modern treasure
Just waiting to be mined
A little bit of digging
Could result in a rich find

Hands, gloved and deft
Pick through refuse, rank and ragged
Which is fraught with dangerous stuff
Like broken glass with edges jagged

“Binning” is what it’s called when
Someone mines dumpsters full of trash
And takes the salvage to scrap dealers
Who then turn it into cash

It’s not for the faint of heart
Or those who, from grunge, recoil
Though a grimy line of work
It seems a useful form of toil

For the metal is recycled which
Conserves our natural resources
This planet’s health can be protected
When recyclers arise and join forces

Every little bit helps
There’s a cumulative effect
And so, to the humble Binner
Ths poem is dedicated, with respect

Kathy Figueroa