Post by davidmm on May 11, 2008 7:51:21 GMT -8
As promised - More Tales from the Gutter
The original Tales of the Gutter can be found here
poetichorizons.proboards56.com/index.cgi?board=critique&action=display&thread=440
Remember those tales of the gutter?
Remember the tales of the slums?
Remember how often the gutter was lauded
With banners and trumpets and drums?
How often the mighty are needful
Of those who they mock and they scorn.
At all other times they just cite all the crimes
They made up when the gutter was born.
For those who are bred in the gutter
Are fodder for cannon and shot
And when sacrifices are written in blood
Then the gutter accepts its sad lot.
The many are ruled by the handful
Who make and apply all the rules.
They govern by stealth in support of their wealth
And the gutters are treated like fools.
For nothing inflames quite like power,
The power retained by the few;
The more that you own means the more you can get
As if it's your God given due.
Of course there are times when life's hard
And the poor stand in line for their bread;
When hunger arrives and they forfeit their lives
There is scarcely a tear to be shed.
Yet we all sigh in sorrow at images
Of children with tears in their eyes
And bodies distended and famished and weak
And you know they'll be dead by sunrise.
But their government buys guns and missiles
To compete and to show off its strength.
And they dont understand; all the poor in the land
Are ignored and are kept at arm's length.
With weapons of course go the riches,
The bribes and the spoils and the style;
The leaders enjoy all the comforts of life
That were gained by their craft and their guile.
Corruption is fuelled by greed,
By the greed of all those who are vain;
They've tasted the honey and spent all the money
Again and again and again.
The more that they get they get weaker
As they live on the fat of the land;
And the more that they get then the more they will want
And the more they will try to demand.
For others are ready and waiting
To step up and share in the feast;
In thought, word and deed, the motive of greed
Stalks the land like a ravenous beast.
Yet hunger and plenty are soul-mates
With hunger the scourge of the earth;
But if you can cheat, well there's plenty to eat
And a great ego boost to your worth.
Yes, such are the tales of the gutter;
But who are the ones who deserve
To live in the depths and the hazardous dregs
And who should we try to preserve?
The rulers will call "fair elections"
Where all can support with a vote;
And everyone flocks to mark 'X' in the box -
But who really cares what they wrote?
The leaders all claim to be democrats
And to govern by popular will;
But once they have found how to cheat and to lie
Their ambition can never stand still.
The ballot box counts as mere nothing
And lives are "colateral" that's all;
And generals laugh as the look at a graph
Showing deaths that result from their call.
So what is the word in the gutter?
The silence is loud and acute.
Where are the leaders who'll stand up and fight?
And why are they dumb and still mute?
Or is it the threats and the menace
That lurk in the shadows and mist?
Is it the fear that is always so near
That makes it so hard to resist?
But power can often just crumble
When faced by the popular choice.
So why hide away in the cold and the dark
Try shouting aloud with one voice.
The gutter is more than just shadows
That lie low and never complain.
Its unfulfilled role is to act as the soul
Of the masses who suffer in vain.
I've told you more tales of the gutter,
Of people whose lives are worth nought
With nothing to lose but their sorrow and chains
Who need to rise up with one thought.
Yes, these are the tales of the gutter
The tales that seem never to end;
So please cast a glance for there's always a chance
That you're from the gutter my friend.
The original Tales of the Gutter can be found here
poetichorizons.proboards56.com/index.cgi?board=critique&action=display&thread=440
Remember those tales of the gutter?
Remember the tales of the slums?
Remember how often the gutter was lauded
With banners and trumpets and drums?
How often the mighty are needful
Of those who they mock and they scorn.
At all other times they just cite all the crimes
They made up when the gutter was born.
For those who are bred in the gutter
Are fodder for cannon and shot
And when sacrifices are written in blood
Then the gutter accepts its sad lot.
The many are ruled by the handful
Who make and apply all the rules.
They govern by stealth in support of their wealth
And the gutters are treated like fools.
For nothing inflames quite like power,
The power retained by the few;
The more that you own means the more you can get
As if it's your God given due.
Of course there are times when life's hard
And the poor stand in line for their bread;
When hunger arrives and they forfeit their lives
There is scarcely a tear to be shed.
Yet we all sigh in sorrow at images
Of children with tears in their eyes
And bodies distended and famished and weak
And you know they'll be dead by sunrise.
But their government buys guns and missiles
To compete and to show off its strength.
And they dont understand; all the poor in the land
Are ignored and are kept at arm's length.
With weapons of course go the riches,
The bribes and the spoils and the style;
The leaders enjoy all the comforts of life
That were gained by their craft and their guile.
Corruption is fuelled by greed,
By the greed of all those who are vain;
They've tasted the honey and spent all the money
Again and again and again.
The more that they get they get weaker
As they live on the fat of the land;
And the more that they get then the more they will want
And the more they will try to demand.
For others are ready and waiting
To step up and share in the feast;
In thought, word and deed, the motive of greed
Stalks the land like a ravenous beast.
Yet hunger and plenty are soul-mates
With hunger the scourge of the earth;
But if you can cheat, well there's plenty to eat
And a great ego boost to your worth.
Yes, such are the tales of the gutter;
But who are the ones who deserve
To live in the depths and the hazardous dregs
And who should we try to preserve?
The rulers will call "fair elections"
Where all can support with a vote;
And everyone flocks to mark 'X' in the box -
But who really cares what they wrote?
The leaders all claim to be democrats
And to govern by popular will;
But once they have found how to cheat and to lie
Their ambition can never stand still.
The ballot box counts as mere nothing
And lives are "colateral" that's all;
And generals laugh as the look at a graph
Showing deaths that result from their call.
So what is the word in the gutter?
The silence is loud and acute.
Where are the leaders who'll stand up and fight?
And why are they dumb and still mute?
Or is it the threats and the menace
That lurk in the shadows and mist?
Is it the fear that is always so near
That makes it so hard to resist?
But power can often just crumble
When faced by the popular choice.
So why hide away in the cold and the dark
Try shouting aloud with one voice.
The gutter is more than just shadows
That lie low and never complain.
Its unfulfilled role is to act as the soul
Of the masses who suffer in vain.
I've told you more tales of the gutter,
Of people whose lives are worth nought
With nothing to lose but their sorrow and chains
Who need to rise up with one thought.
Yes, these are the tales of the gutter
The tales that seem never to end;
So please cast a glance for there's always a chance
That you're from the gutter my friend.