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Michael Horovitz

A New Waste Land: Britain at Nillennium

Prologue: A New Land’s Hymn to Saint Tony

Should old assurances be forgot 
- Nay, banished from your mind
When hucksters thrive and paupers clot
‘Tis cruel to be kind.

Here’s looking at you, big brother Blair -
Such a wow with your women that most of them fear
To call you to task, fear even to ask
"Hey, what about me....?"

Here’s shame on you, so high-handedly
Raising up like a drawbridge the charge
For admission to arts, education and health
That the wealthy may pile up more wealth.

Here’s three loud boos for the hype and schmooze
For your superposh mega-dosh parties
And your smoothed out lengths of old Tory rope
That tie down the helpless with less and less hope

- Told, "Lone parents, new mothers, sickos,
Disabled - on your bikes, get straight
Back to work, all’s well"
- Save for those who aren’t, who can rot in hell.

Here’s mud in your eye for making us cry
As we try to bite with good cheer
On the sound of the same heartless cop-outs
We’ve had for too many a year.

If Jesus Christ were alive again
His shout to the People’s PM would be plain "Halleluja Saint Tory, memento mori -
Another year you could be down and out....

"Money changers ring in, underclasses rot? Recall, Sir, your mandate so quickly forgot
- U-turn on all this, replace hardship and piss
With full cups of kindness yet"

- Amen indeed
If you'll slash away Top People's greed,
Build a Britain that's really new
Letting each of us have what we need,
We'll give of our best, thanking you -

For a caring country, bold Minister
For commitment through and through
We'll take a cup of kindness yet
For a brave new land with you.

Taken from The Pop! Anthology, a lavishly illustrated collection of lyrics, poems, music and diverse memorabilia “celebrating 40 years of New Departures and 20 years of Poetry Olympics in all its guises, and handing on the baton for ever new departures into eternity”.

Copies of the anthology are available @ £7.99 plus £1 for P&P from:
New Departures, PO Box 9819 London W11 2GQ.