And spare a thought
for those Conservative MPs
who will stand in the House
insist we all eat the same
leathery, overdone lamb chops
wear the same unfashionable undergarments
can all quote from Wisden, Tennyson,
and Boys’ Own Weekly, understanding
these are interchangeable
who desire that we dance only
in the presence of chaperones
are tucked up in bed by 1955
are dressed and ready and waiting
eagerly for the morning post
demanding our National Service
whenever it arrives
who are too impoverished to have
their own collection of vinyl
too stupid to navigate Spotify
too benighted to have ever heard of YouTube
who have been prevented by their neighbours
from playing national anthems
of their own choosing
at any time of day
whose only dream is to have died,
weeping, in a far-flung corner
of a foreign field
in another century
and who never did.
© Steve Pottinger