The scheme had some success at first. Indeed it did! But many concerns still worried the king: while he was more popular than ever before, making the changes people had asked for left him looking weak.
A Poem by Patrick MacLeod Cullen
We live at the beginning of the end,
my friends and peers and I,
our children and our parents with us,
looking into the future of a burning world,
our pockets empty and our souls alight.
Our dreams of our future echo each others',
in a strange, broken hall-of-mirrors,
with cottages and cabins and huts and homes,
gardens and allotments and cupboards full of food,
dogs and cats and goats and chickens in our minds.
Few are our dreams of riches beyond compare,
or fame, or even acts of heroism and glory,
rather, now, as Tasmania burns and America freezes,
as storms grow and grow, as the deserts expand,
and the billionaires gold-plate their pizzas...
...for us, our dreams are of nights by a fire,
a place to live, and be free, work that sustains our spirit,
and loving company, to share the grief and joy,
to hold close as the water rises and horror creeps ever closer,
bringing the desperate and the frantic and the dead. ■
Patrick Cullen is an anarchist, parent, and poet. He lives in the Midlands with his partner and their six rats.
You can find him on Patreon and Facebook.
The scheme had some success at first. Indeed it did! But many concerns still worried the king: while he was more popular than ever before, making the changes people had asked for left him looking weak.
I've got a fire in my belly,
It what makes me scribe,
It's looking for justice and fair play,
It's what keeps me alive,
It's like a burger in a bun,
Topped with a scoville relish,
This fire in my belly,
Is hard to extinguish.
No like my surroundings help. It’s grim. Maybe I’ll actually leave some day. Who hasnae said that though? And here we are thousands of souls who are dammed to stay here. Is it actually that bad though? Or am I just blinkered? Guess you can never see the full picture when you’re so close. Maybe I’ll piss off to some island.
They advertise in the papers,
They advertise on TV,
They target vulnerable people,
Aged about 16,
All from impoverished backgrounds,
Show unity,
Do not sign the dotted line,
Of the military.