imagine

by Julie Easley

imagine you had just crossed the sea
crashed out of the waves
fell down onto your knees

imagine your kids strapped to your sides
their lives wrapped in plastic,
snapped and tagged for all the front pages

imagine that journey, the swell of fear
in your mind, the relief of the sand
as your feet hit the ground

imagine being met by military might
their strength and power transposed onto you
imagine being met by all that force

imagine the drowning of your spirit
no helping hands to keep you afloat
imagine that danger, your desperation

imagine the spectacle of media
transmission is live on the 6 o’clock news
the taunting of your torment in full public view

imagine if none of this were true

let them eat chips

by Julie Easley

common sense is cheap these days - just ask the rich

they chuck in their opinion, churn out recipes for free
they say the poor can’t budget ‘cept for fags and booze and huge TV’s
they line up in their taxpayer limos for the latest photo op
for selfies at the food bank where the poor can get their spuds
and rummage an excellent choice in tins for something to go on toast
they say ‘food poverty is so in vogue,’ they flood their twitter feed
the smiling elites with thumbs up giving nourishment for a fee

common sense is cheap these days - just ask the rich

they give their mates billions, set up companies just for fun
sit their privileged arses on piles of cash then vote to starve the kids,
they gorge on gourmet menus, wipe out cummings council tax
point their dodgy fingers at the parents lost in a poverty trap
they promise to level up - that we’re in this all together
then slash and cut and level down, laugh and clap and cheer with glee
‘the poor,’ they say, ‘can feed themselves if they spend more responsibly’

common sense is cheap these days - just ask the rich

they say the poor aren’t poor enough to deserve more from the pot
they piss it up the wall they say, or spend it all on crack
they make all the wrong decisions, the problems plain to see
the poor don’t need luxury stuff like choices of what to afford
a tin of beans or the heating on
a loaf of bread or pay the rent
a bag of spuds or frozen chips

common sense is cheap these days, just ask the stinking rich.