Materialism Gone Mad

This poem was inspire by no experience of mine, but due to the media coverage of the problem and due to my days volunteering at the CAB.
The CAB is a free indipendant advisory service which can help you not get into poor credit agreements and help you to manage debt. They also provide information and advice about a wide range of issues including family matters, housing, neighbours, social security and benefits ammongst other things. You can find them at http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/winnn6/cabdir.ihtml or in your local high street.

Invitations come through the door,
Falling on my mat once more,
Suggesting that I borrow lots
To buy all I want, including pots.
Phone this number for instant credit.
Rates so high, tiny type, they hid it.
All I can think of is items desired,
Shopping daily makes me feel wired.
Wants mutate into incessant needs,
Addiction, on these offers it feeds.

Credit card companies unscrupulous offers.
Promissing to swell my coffers.
The money - it's obvious, it must be mine,
I never can think of late payment fine.
Catalogues and shopping channel
Invite my spending with excessive flannel,
Showing me how to desire their things,
Materialism, in me takes wings.
Dresses, gadgets and fashion, its hot.
Looking now I want the lot.

Reminders are sent, on my mat they fall,
Cresitors debts they now recall.
Stress, it builds as I can't repay.
'Pay me now!' the bankers say.
My income, no longer is enough,
Court admin order - its very tough.
Perhaps its better to go bankrupt
Oh! How these lenders are corrupt.
I suppose I could considor mediocracy -
Not spending so much, but this is democracy

Losing Weight - The National Obsession

This poem is a reflection of today's society. I have written a number of poems which do this. This is a bit of a diversion for me, where the title actually says exactly what is in the poem.

How did it happen?
That losing weight
Became the national obsession.
We are in a terrible state;
Half of us now obese
And hlaf under weight.
Surrounded by fads
All those various diets;
Atkins, Weight Watchers, slim Fast,
Do we get all those gadgets?
All that motionless motion?
Or do we just limit our food?
Food taunts and surrounds us;
Low calorie, low carb, low fat.
Choice over whelms us.
Fast food, lets have more of that.
And now I'm as wide as I'm high
I'll take all your potions
I'll have opperations
I just don't want to wait
Doctor please help me
Get back my size eight.

Destruction, Dividing

This poem is set to the hymn tune 'Imortal, Invisible' and was written when the protest marches were being planned before the Iraq war started in February 2003. The gun in the last line of the first verse refers to the weapons of mass disturction, of which even then, there were enough clues given away in the world press to show that the polititions knew were not there.

Destruction, Dividing, War in our name.
In attempting to prove that he's not the same.
Most forceful, most fearsome,
Blair leads us all on
Into battle victorious
'Cos Sadam has no gun.

Unhearing the country, determined to fight,
Nor listening to reason, just proud of his might.
Blair thinks he is moral
To hurt the children,
To impose all those sanctions
That deny medicine.

From all life war taketh, from both great and small'
Just leaving a country deprive'd of all.
Our arm forces, they flouresh
Like leave on a tree
But our services perish
And our leaders don't see.

Great wars of the past have destroyed many live
Yet we never learn, we just avert our eyes.
Oh Lord God please help us
And lead us to peace
Our leades should back off
And turn about face

Home Alone

This poem spent much time without a title and then was given one by a reader of it. It was written upon hearing a radio 4 drama about a woman who followed her lover to Italy to write poetry (her lover was an author). She ended up spending most of her time writing letters to him about how difficult it was to write any poetry and how she was going to have to go back to her husband soon.

I though to write a poem
About something mundane
So, for ideas, I looked about me
And then looked about again
While the washing up
Gathered in a mountain
I sat and wondered
'What about a fountain'
But the time wore ever on
And imagination, now had gone.
Yet all about the bright sun shone
You would think that, generously
It would give some inspiration
But no, no rhymes would come
And time wore ever on
There is so little now left
Before my man gets home, bereft
Of tasty dinner or tidy home
And, what's this?
I'm all alone.

Angels with Broken Wings

Angels once were our gods.
In the firmamnet they flew,
Having power o'er death and life
The stories of them grew and grew.
Then, at last, we tried to change them
Till one of them wa set to fall,
All we wanted was to own them
But He wnated to tempt us all

Where the angels once flew and played
Within our minds and hearts
Gaps and fissures there now appeared
As evil made his little finds.
He found a way to twist and warp us
A few of us became his kinds
And though they try, so well, to behave
Good and sweetas Jesu was
They find the going is tough and hard
As temptation follows us

Temptation to have our way
Our fifteen minutes of spiteful fame,
The desire, by others to be seen
To be admired for our glowing flame.
Weakend by all the sins against us,
Struggeling to be known by name,
We force our will upon some others,
Till their view appears the same.
Not noticing the beast's work been done,
How we change the ones around us,
They only see the harm too late
But now thier friends have upped and gone.
Left, as Satan causes hate.