~
Many a war she has fought,
and many a land she did conquer,
many a soldier she has squarely lost,
while her swollen pride shall suffocate many more.
~

The land of Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Keats,
is lonely, bereft of her neighbours in Europe.
Her bosom is bountiful with Nature,
yet her breasts run dry.
~

With profit as the only bait,
the men in suits march ruthlessly with staunch insouciance,
trammelling many a slug and lettuce,
and other insignificant lives along their way.
~

Educators take to the streets and protest;
Abysmal pension plans surely they do have,
Whence the chancellors’ bank balance accumulate
much to everyone’s chagrin and forsaken opportunities.
~

Hapless students stay in shared flats
with borrowed money and low-morality,
suffer yet another time, the debt
burying them alive in broad daylight,
much to hoodwinkers’ delight.
~

The researchers and non-tenure track workers.
And the grade 1-5 workers of numerous workplaces
justly seek security, a roof over their head,
and a stress-free life is all they ask.
~

The zero-hour contract workers, and the food delivery men and women,
the workers who compete with robots, and
the supermarket till workers and stockpilers,
rightly seek security.
~

The once mighty ruler is now lost in her senile thoughts.
A sense of gloom ominously prevails,
and individualism overshadows communities.
Loneliness and despair drives people to seek security in nationalism.
~

Powerful and ruthless men at the top of
Camford Institutes and mega-corporations,
with their blatant nepotism and self-interest,
perpetuate the status quo.
~

When did she become so individualistic?
With her blinkered vision,
what values would she impart to her future children,
as educators, as parents, as law abiding citizens?
~~~