A Beginner’s Guide to 4-D Chess

by Steve Pottinger, with image above by Martin Rowson

Play the man, and not the ball.
Sneer about 2019, the impotence
of protest. Say nothing of slaughter.

Talk tough on benefits
in your free suit, glasses, shoes.
Mention veterans. Stop boats.

Glastonbury tickets trump digital tax.
You have a right to watch football.
Let me be clear. These are facts.

Your team, a snout.
Taylor Swift, a trough.
Isn’t it nice, the quiet?

At the helm of our nation’s photocopier:
grown-ups. Sensible. Beige.
Pastiches of Cool Britannia.

Your vision of the future?
A tribute act. Stamping
outsourced. Hail profit. Forever.