I was surprised but encouraged to find my doggerel of last month published to a much wider readership in the daily newsletter of TCW. This month I can offer you 2 more recent doggerels echoing my take on the world. Getting these thoughts down in print does wonders for reducing my blood pressure – so I hope it may help yours too!
The Popular Vote!
One man one vote is the magic trick
that makes our democratic government tick
The ladies too now have their vote
Though crooks and kids still miss the boat
We cherish the chance we have to choose
Which Party wins and which will lose
But it's those with cash who rule the roost
The rich elites in their marching boots
The corporate giants who stride the earth
They'll lobby Parliaments for all their worth
We ordinary folk don't have much say
Just a tick in the box on election day
This ticking of election boxes has its flaws
with short-term policies and ill-thought laws
So our world is governed hour by hour
By the troubled folk who most want power
They can borrow money to buy our votes
And trail false promises in manifesto notes
When things look bad and life's a bore
Our mad leaders often like to start a war
They'll duck and weave to avoid all blame
Whether wise or foolish they're all the same
Sometimes they claim it's just bad advice
So they find a scape-goat and that's not nice
Those who climb government's greasy pole
May queue and jostle for an important role
But they often choose more direct attack
Stabbing friends and colleagues in the back
This is the one key skill they must perfect
To strive for power with great effect
And you won't need brains to rise to power
Much better to kiss those babies hour by hour
Without training or skills you'll come to no harm
While your smile and teeth project your charm
You won't need experience or a fine CV
Just a good-looking face on film and TV
So that's the story of the popular vote
It's far from perfect as I'm sure you'll note
There are few indeed who think it works
We're trapped in a system that's full of quirks
The public all know that things must change
The times we live in are indeed most strange
HIDDEN SECRETS!
Most oft the face of mother nature seems soft and quite serene
The birds and flowers together paint such a peaceful scene
Green trees they tower majestic into cloudless summer skies
We thrill to the swift magic dancing of pretty dragon flies
Mackerel dart and plankton shimmer in silver deep-blue seas
Our slick Walt Disney movies love to paint such scenes as these
But beneath such majestic beauty some hidden secrets hide
The dynamic spinning wheel of nature has a darker side
It's found with ruthless logic in every complex food chain
Where the sick, the slow and weak feel constant mortal pain
They're hunted, chased, devoured by each bigger faster beast
So all these happy little creatures just become another's feast
The vibrant air we breathe each day is full of tiny motes
Small spores and yeasts and nasty beasts, they all go down our throats
Our skins just crawl with dirt and bugs we cannot wipe away
And why they do not make us sick it's very hard to say
Our bodies have learned a trick or two over many thousand years
No wonder why those who forget this are plagued by silly fears
It's the magic of black carbon that fuels this crazy chain of life
That jostles daily to and fro in a frantic equilibrium of strife
Our plants and sea-green plankton collect it every day sun shines
It makes the flowers, the age old oaks and canny Scottish pines
The vital gas that runs this mighty show is stolen from our air
But at just one part in ten thousand, this stuff is very very rare
Now nature's web is complex with massive overload
If every walnut seed should grow the world would soon explode
In fifty years each tree might drop about one million nuts
But only one of these must grow, there are no ifs or buts
The rest will simply rot away or serve as “super food”
If you don't see how this logic works, you're a very stupid dude
We modern techno-humans, we want to have control
With science and computers to take a commanding role
We think we can manage climate and rule the world of plants
We support white-coated wizards with ever bigger grants
We control the “official” narrative with smart electronic kit
We manage news and censor views to make the story fit
But deep inside this make-believe there lies a hidden fear
The answers to our cosmic quest are maybe not so clear
The complex ordered chemistry of all our human brains
Will never truly master nature's many interlinked domains
As nature's fated creatures, we must carry the torch of life
Tackle the gordian knots of fate, try to cut them with a knife
We've tried so very many times to master all life's tricks
What dangerous things we do today with nature's building bricks
Splicing genes may seem like fun for fools who mess with DNA
But toying with the codes of life is a very risky game to play
The mysteries of unintended consequences are an ever present threat
Once Pandora's box is opened nobody knows what you will get!