A Race cut to shreds

Precious oxygen wasted

To try and free his mind

Walled brain simply can’t compute

Too cocooned through time

Protests bounce off a conscience

Worn down to transparency

An ego trapped in cage of arrogance

Fuelled by hypocrisy

Letters of law seem jumbled up

Into nonsense in his head

The raw emotions of others

Minuscule and dead

But the cloak has slipped into the mud

No protection to be sought

All goodwill and positivity

Ground down now to nought

He can run a thousand marathons

But the truth has greater legs

The speed of time and justice

Will cut his race to shreds

© Simon Marks

Protesters pile pressure on shamed MSP Bill Walker to quit

Simon Marks is a 40-something journalist from the Northeast of England, working in Scotland, who just loves throwing words together and seeing what comes out - some of it readable.

 

This Song's For You, El Presidente

Happy Birthday to you
El Presidente it's true
Your rule is indefatigable,
Happy birthday to you!

Such an honour to be here
As your guest, it's so clear
You are one much-loved leader
This song's for you, my dear

Yet when my people gave me this pitch,
I was baffled, I admit
But once the fee was on the table
I knew this was the right gig

And your country looks so sweet
Happy vibes off the street
Seeped through the Hilton Hotel
Up to my luxury suite

The Champagne was fine
The goat's cheese divine
And the service so punctual
With a smile every time

Nice soldiers everywhere
So helpful, always there
As my limousine sped through town
Without a leave or care

And your people, so polite
No arguments, no fights
When my room was not to my liking
And my steak not cooked right

And this party's so fab
Lots of servants to hand
Cristal chilled to perfection
Gaultier, Dolce and Gab

I love the street parties too
The gunfire's so cute
And the fireworks keep going
Banging all the night through

So happy birthday to you!
Oh, and my fee's overdue
Will you contact my people
This is urgent - thank you!

© Simon Marks

Jennifer Lopez criticised for Turkmenistan corporate gig

Sunday Review

Simon Marks started the week of for us with his poem "Send us Ed – or we’ll cry" 
which commented on the seeming inability of the world's superpower to find one person. 
On Tuesday Martha Landman's "Musical Chairs, A Formidable Game" commented wittily on the bloodsport known as Australian politics. It's easiest to think of it as "The Sopranos" They may sincerely regret whacking you but they will whack you.
 On Wednesday Carolyn Cornthwaite's The Future's Bright continued her excellent run of poems lately. This one captured, succinctly , the feelings of despair which are becoming the new normal in many parts of the world.
Luigi Pagano's Final Curtain gave a glimpse of the very far future and who might inherit the earth after us. It isn't the meek after all, it's the microbes. Wash your hands, folks!
Saturday brought us Martha Landman's "A Piece of the Road"a fine poem poem about Nelson Mandela. The image of the Cape Cormorant is very powerful.
Have a good week folks. There are plenty of stories out there to make poems about, it really is all happening at the moment.

Send us Ed – or we’ll cry

They seek him here

They seek him there

They seek that Snowden everywhere

Paranoia’s hardened their veins

Cold War blood runs hot again

“Traitorous scum” their vocal cords cry

They don’t want their filthy secrets hung out to dry

They demand the right

To have them tucked up tight

In a cupboard, next to their .45s

And anyway, it’s their inalienable right

To peer through your laptop screen

Monitor your being

Analyse your soul

They’re the land of the free – don’t you know?

And they get angry, spiteful and rude

When the universe won’t play by their rules

Or when some scared Ordinary Ed

Decides he’s got a conscience instead of a need

To break human law for greed

And right-wing creed

The US again turns its back on the Earth

Uses a prism to peer at the world

While a petrified man’s forced to stay low

Just because he had the guts to say “no!”.

©Simon Marks

 Edward Snowden: USanger at Russia and China

My name is Simon Marks, I'm a journalist by trade, in my mid-40s, write non-journalistic stuff for a hobby.

For more info, go to http://www.writeoutloud.net/profiles/marksy