The Power of Lies
I hear you got a promotion:
Crack open the champagne.
And yes, you worked so very hard –
That nine-to-five’s a pain.
You’ll send your kids to private school;
They’ll get the very best.
You’ll have to pay high taxes – though
Who cares about the rest?
Just ignore those small boys and girls;
Failure is in their genes.
At twenty he’ll be inside; she’ll
Be pregnant by fourteen.
You must blame their low-life parents,
Who can’t be arsed to work.
But you do nothing but: always
With your hands in the dirt.
Those immigrants are coming in,
Trying to steal your job.
But if they can’t, they’ll make do in
The luxe life of a slob.
Of course, they’re a threat to your world;
Let’s send out our forces.
They just want to blow us all up;
You want their resources.
Your profit’s smashing through the roof;
Your kids are going blind.
Your life is so very perfect,
And should I tell you why?
Debbie works at the factory, and
Night shifts at a café:
Working hard to feed her kids; you
Pay her minimum wage.
Her kids are at the local comp,
Classes of thirty-five.
Another teacher has walked out;
There are no more supplies.
They come home and their mum’s not there;
Dad’s nowhere to be seen.
They don’t understand their homework,
So they just watch TV.
And what about that man Nasir,
Who’s living on the streets?
Trying to sell the Big Issue,
But whose glance you can’t meet.
After work in some seedy bar
Your drink’s spiked with your shame.
Is table-dancing really the
Liberty you proclaimed?
It’s not as bad as where they’re from:
A land not scarce of debt.
Your ancestors screwed over theirs;
You continue the quest.
While you stand on their shoulders, they
Line your pockets with gold.
And as long as you’ve power, we’ll
Believe the lies we’re told.
By Martha Everitt
April 2009
