St. George's Day

A poem for today...

St. George's Day

Follow your spirit and upon this charge
cry, “God for Harry, England and a Greek
who fought for Rome,” --but not at Agincourt.

He neither failed nor turned the other cheek
did Tribune George, a soldier first and more,
who served so well as Guard to Diocles

in what is now İzmit, by Turkish sea,
where tortured, cut up, down on knees,
he lost his head in A.D. 303.

The Christian martyr named by Bede the Scribe,
declared his love of Christ, like many since,
when on St. George's Day, refusing bribe,

he stared the Emperor down without a flinch
and dragon's scales of Satan shrugged aside,
he moved his lips to ask of God his grace.

That final act, before the pagan's pride,
sent Geordie on his way to find a place
in Catholic halls of fame; a Patron Saint

to be, with myths for fools. Kebabbed, expired,
twelve hundred years before the Bard would paint
in stirring words the deeds of Kings, inspired

to pen a speech for Hal, in verse writ large.

Politics

Here's a topical piece for you. You may see this as a diatribe on the state of politics in this country or you may see it as plagiarism of Carol Ann Duffy's eponymous poem. I prefer to see it as homage. It's a 14-line poem that's not so much a Sonnet; more of what I might call a Duffet.


Politics

Nothing changes except the names of them
as polls still show from then 'til now the public's less
engaged with party hype, not queuing up to vote
for members (scrub that – claimers), erstwhile wavers of flags,
red banners, blue ties, Eton dress, full of fucking righteousness,
of self-declared intent. Who knows, we're better than this:
door-steppers, loyalists, carpetbaggers, whitening-toothpaste
smilers all the whilers kissing bairns, seekers-out of photo-opps,
bending rhetoric 'round your ears, claiming it's all new
ways of doing politics, different, different, different shite,
changing ethics, honest Gov dot co UK, the right that calls
the centre left, for David steeled read Campbell clegged,
see Tumblr for your #AwkwardEd. The power you'll note
lies in the vote – OPTIMISTIC OPTIMISTIC OPTIMISTIC.