My life, at this stage,
had worn paper thin
- clipped to a board, hung
at my feet, open to review
with scant reference
to the source material.

My body had been fragmented,
parts selected and cut -
the changes tracked
for future reference.

And there were end notes
(if you were interested).

I was saved for later.

The brief needle in my arm
and onwards
the dog with the slobbered tennis ball
the boys braving bare feet in the stream
and onwards
soft wind still with a sharp edge
the brief needle in my arm
the tumble song of the ice cream van
and onwards

Nurses bursaries scrapped
Wages capped
Students unpaid, betrayed
By a stratified social system
That ***** on the helpless and the selfless
"Gratitude" is expressed
Not by redressing the balance
But with a clap
Followed by a stab in the back:
Oh, snap.

We're sick of your hollow applause: pause
Rewind your mind three years
To when you jeered
And blocked their cause with a cheer:
Tell me, is your conscience clear?

And when we think
You can't sink any lower
You throw a fresh blow:
Increase front line pay
But decline the same for our warriors in blue
Who saved your **** neck on that ICU

And the saddest part
Of this sorry story, Tory
Is we're outraged and dismayed
At the disdain you've displayed
But amazed? No.
Your track record is traceable
Applause a mere mask
Tasked with shielding years of austerity
That's crippled our NHS
With alarming prosperity

This proverbial *******
Will linger
In the memories of those who chose
A career of care
Over privilege and flair

Heroes wear blue
Blue like the sky
Keep looking up,we’ll get by

Heroes wear blue
Each one a star
Shinning through the night

Heroes wear blue
So keep doing what you do
I know it’s hard, but we will get through
Whatever colour you wear thank you for being there
So from all our hearts -that’s where love starts
Thank you for being you !

Socially distanced he whispered,

"it says covid on the death certificate,

but I'm not a sap,

it was the clap".

To clap, or not to clap, that is the question
Whether it’s nobler in the mind to give
Undying love to those who save us
Or by opposing, expose those
Who have systematically underfunded
A public fed service with malice
It dies, we die, there’s the rub
Chatter and cheer will rightly raise from
Many whose hearts are true and proud
Whose hearts must be hardened
Next at the ballot box to lift us:
There is no country without unity
No unity without truth, no economy
Without each and every soul, always

Working while COVID is lurking,
You are selflessly nursing and returning,
Those that were hurting,
Sometimes it can be disconcerting
But remember, we are chirping because of you,
Thank you for serving.

He’s lived and loved, for 99.9 years
Listen to his story, don’t hold back the tears

Daughter’s love, for a now dear old man
“I will help the NHS, as old as I am"

Please remember his name, from this day on
And speak with pride, of our Captain Tom

No one on this wet rock is self-made
they all got fat with a safety net,
foundations laid
by mothers and fathers who gave
time, lives, thought, truths
so we can do what we do

It’s this we should continue

Let those who can
burn bright and earn,
that’s fine, they’ll cope
but your concern should be
the bedrock beneath us

Your every task should be to
feed, clothe, educate and make safe.

If you want Great,
supposed lost,
fulfil your role as public servants,
right and honourable,
that’s the only real cost