Short Poems

Underdeveloped ?

I arrived at the gates of hell
to witness the doomed battle
against the drug barons of Medellin, body
counts multiplying amidst
the inferno of rival
barons, guerrillas, hired
assassins and marauding
teenage gangs , crime 10 crimestoppers 0
greed and power
twin kings but only a vision
of raw, blood and guts capitalism
in reality

Peter Burton June 2006

Freedom !

Possible return to the Victorian nightmare
Of extreme wage-slavery
Scapegoated powerless immigrants
Eaten up by
Late British Capitalism
Swallowed down whole by
Corruption and greed
Destroyer of dreams
Creator of bitterness
And crimes
We all need socialism
ALL!

Peter Burton July 2006


The History Man ?

I once went for an interview
as a young man lacking guile

The two man interview panel
kept me waiting quite a while

They then asked me why I wanted
to teach history so very much

I replied that historys’ lessons
were what kept humanity in touch

With where we’d been
and where we’re going
and how to get us there

They looked at each other
then back at me like
I’d come to them
as part of some mad dare

Peter Burton June 2006

Some Men

Manipulate , play the game
Come across as a nice guy

Bed them, don’t wed them
And then you say goodbye.

Peter Burton

Zimmermann

Rimbaud, Verlaine, Thomas and Shelley
Ferlingheeti, Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsburg
Williams, Presley, Guthrie and Johnson
Brando and Peck , Dean and the Bible

Just some of the things that influenced you

Underdeveloped ?

I arrived at the gates of hell
to witness the doomed battle
against the drug barons of Medellin, body
counts multiplying amidst
the inferno of rival
barons, guerrillas, hired
assassins and marauding
teenage gangs , crime 10 crimestoppers 0
greed and power
twin kings but only a vision
of raw, blood and guts capitalism
in reality

Peter Burton June 2006

Freedom !

Possible return to the Victorian nightmare
Of extreme wage-slavery
Scapegoated powerless immigrants
Eaten up by
Late British Capitalism
Swallowed down whole by
Corruption and greed
Destroyer of dreams
Creator of bitterness
And crimes
We all need socialism
ALL!

Peter Burton July 2006

The History Man ?

I once went for an interview
as a young man lacking guile

The two man interview panel
kept me waiting quite a while

They then asked me why I wanted
to teach history so very much

I replied that historys’ lessons
were what kept humanity in touch

With where we’d been
and where we’re going
and how to get us there

They looked at each other
then back at me like
I’d come to them
as part of some mad dare

Peter Burton June 2006

Some Men

Manipulate , play the game
Come across as a nice guy

Bed them, don’t wed them
And then you say goodbye.

Zimmermann

Rimbaud, Verlaine, Thomas and Shelley
Ferlingheeti, Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsburg
Williams, Presley, Guthrie and Johnson
Brando and Peck , Dean and the Bible

Just some of the things that influenced you

Ali

Courageous , charismatic, principled and straight as day
“Ain’t no Vietcong called me nigger” you said
And showed your countrymen the way


The House that Jack built
( or chief puddin)

O How ad like to slap yer face
Great puddin o the Scottish race

Ye stand up there
Dodgin beams

And spoutin forth so much
Tosh and reams
of lies and spittle

A great first Minister in Jack McConnell?
We’d be better aff wi Daniel O’ Donnell


The man with the iron mask (1)

Affable, intelligent
popular as well

But underneath that mask you wear
Your as sectarian as hell !

Ali

Courageous , charismatic, principled and straight as day
“Ain’t no Vietcong called me nigger” you said
And showed your countrymen the way


The House that Jack built
( or chief puddin)

O How ad like to slap yer face
Great puddin o the Scottish race

Ye stand up there
Dodgin beams

And spoutin forth so much
Tosh and reams
of lies and spittle

A great first Minister in Jack McConnell?
We’d be better aff wi Daniel O’ Donnell


The Man with the Iron mask (1)

Affable, intelligent
popular as well

But underneath that mask you wear
Your as sectarian as hell !