On the brink with narrow men.
the Cold War overshadowed much of my childhood
fear was latched and hooked onto everyday things
it was the Reds they said would do us harm
it went on through my teenage years too
that continuous threat the nuclear arsenals posed
the bombers of all sides armed, ready to go
submarines lurked in the oceans depths
then Cruise missiles came a late addition.
something changed something called détente
but the wars continued they just found a way
around that inconvenience it was simple
they stopped calling them wars
but now they’ve all caught amnesia
and fear is spreading everywhere
politicians can’t seem to help themselves
ladling fear whenever they can
it’s an all too obvious strategy
while the dismantling goes on
of Education, the National Health Service,
Social Care and so much more
it’s easy to spot the distraction of fear
while the narrow men shout watch for the reds
but meanwhile get into the Chinese bed
there is a collective amnesia at large
and we have real reason to be afraid of that
soon we’ll hear the justification for war
soon we’ll hear the need for boots on the ground
in whatever land is decided by the narrow men
and the ramping up of the war of words
to justify, bamboozle and hoodwink
that the actual threat is their stupidity
and we’ll be living in that fear time again.
meanwhile the rich get richer
and nothing has been learned
nothing has changed the narrow men
not even their history degrees.
©robcullen2018
