Protest Poem

I wrote this a few weeks ago in support of the 3 protesters jailed for stopping lorries entering the fracking site in Lancashire. Thankfully they were freed on appeal.

Protest Poem

Democracy is fragile,
it's like a game that's played
with secret deals and handshakes
hidden in the shade.
Democracy is flexible
when there's money to be made.

Taking back control
is just a front page splash
when you've one hand on the levers
and the other grabbing cash.
If anyone dares to protest
it's they who feel the lash.

You point your grubby finger
at the Brussels bureaucrats
You lie about their power,
claim that you're the democrat.
But your abuse of authority
shows that you're the cat who's fat.

From Peterloo to Kinder
the trespass in the peaks
to Orgreave and the Poll Tax
it's justice that we seek.
But you clamp mouths with heavy hands
when the people try to speak.

Now you misuse the system
to crush any dissenting voice
when the frackers come to town
the locals get no choice.
As the protests end in prison
you silently rejoice,
rejoice,
rejoice....

Tim Fellows 2018