The by-line is essential clue
as global headlines influence,
outrageous, common currency,
(recall bite test, validity?)
for threats the trade, bit coinage.
Gold standard, once so dearly held,
of sterling value in the world
(though miners paid the price involved)
is now reduced, art of the deal,
as nations treated with contempt.
The irony, that eagle dares
to claim supremacy of air,
as heir, supposed, of greater call,
yet master race, geography,
would buy your leave, sell heritage.
Stick to the script, play right on stage,
and cease in crafting narratives;
these battered folk not yours to sell
for mess of potage (you’re the blind) –
their birthright is not yours to deal.
Stand up to bullies, playing grounds –
a testing time for weaker wills;
that victims of the holocaust
may not themselves become like guards,
removing, within tent, bloodline.
As babies buried, children shot,
will we accept a gangster’s rule?
If so, then judgement on us all.
As Gaza stripped with West Bank toll,
will prophets stand where profits roll?
Stephen Kingsnorth (Cambridge M.A., English & Religious Studies), retired to Wales, UK, from ministry in the Methodist Church due to Parkinson’s Disease, has had pieces curated and published by on-line poetry sites, printed journals and anthologies, including Poetry Potion. He has, like so many, been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. His blog is at https://poetrykingsnorth.wordpress.com