7 April 2012

A poem by Neva Carmouche


By way of a guest blog Mr Mustard present's a poem by Neva Carmouche who he hasn't, to his knowledge, met. The wonders of computing, except if you a have a Barnet Council tablet of course.



A Poem
By
Neva Carmouche
Celebrating the World Premiere
Of the Film
“A Tale of Two Barnets”

A Few Lines Written upon the Proposed Closure of Friern Library after hearing that Barnet Council had instructed that all advertising posters for the World Premier Film “ A Tale of Two Barnets ” should be taken down from all Council Buildings .

Also that Barnet Council had banned Children from entering the Friern Library on Saturday 24 March 2012 to deliver 78TH Anniversary “ Thank You ” Cards to the Council Scrutiny Committee who had voted a “ temporary respite ” from “ closure ” and subsequent demolition .

Ich konnte für ein RAM als Schaf außerdem gehangen werden
[ I might as well be hung for a Ram as a Sheep ]

Jack Boots , Jack Boots ,
Can you hear them silently ?
Rising to cacophony ?
Can you taste absurdity ?
Can you see the arrogance ?
And the Council threatening ?
We may have been deleted ,
From the Council’s map already ,
But we are not defeated ,
So steady our Folks , cry steady !
I cannot hear them listening ,
Consultation is a farce ,
The People’s view – n’er to been seen --
today , has not been seen again .
I only see the bullying ,
The lying and the biasness ,
Together with dissembling
The token PR exercise ,
Result ? - a forgone conclusion ,
Of sheets of leading questions ,
Dis-allowed by Court exclusions .
I cannot see them listening ,
Consultation was a sham ,
Of course in breach of Capenhurst ,
“ What’s that ? ” , they cry out , to a man !
Electors suffer tyranny ,
Blended with malignity ,
With cruelty and with callousness ,
And cheating and with recklessness ,
The harshness and intolerance ,
In breach of Nolan Principles ,
The list goes on and on………….
“We got it wrong ! ” , the Members cry ,
Their Officers ? Deny ! Deny !
“We got it wrong ” , again is cried ,
But no reasons for “ Shop-Genocide ” ?
“ Lets fill those coffers ” , secret vote ,
For short term gains , and assets stripped ,
And shoppers robbed of parking trips ,
And Shops just closed , made bankrupt too ,
By Parking greed , and fines excessive ,
Employment lost , the futures hue ?
Not “ Back to Black ” – much worse than that ,
Worse than the riots ? - Those Shops were fixed -
But I’ve lost all my Customers’ Parking ,
That’s worse even than the Blitz .
Officer’s wage up for review ?
How can we raise more Revenue ?
We must not lose our Council Jobs ,
Lets vote , but quick , we got the power ,
My taxi’s here in half an hour !
Allowance safe , it’s in my bags !
So pass another sandwich Mags !
Lets not discuss my pension please ,
But Library and Museum closures ,
And future generations , shorn of culture .
Ignore the wonders of a child and
Turn them away on 78TH Anniversary Day ?
With Cards in hand , just shove them back ?
Might They be part of some Terror Attack ?
Forget the knitting , reading meetings ,
Talks and local Pol-Ice teaming ,
Best forget that it’s a much loved Centre ,
The only Community Centre in our area ,
A focal point for this Community ?
Much rather have my Council Pension’s Annuity !
Schiller wrote “ the gods themselves struggle against stupidity ” ,
Could he have imagined a Council struggling with it’s Liquidity ?
By robbing the poor to sustain it’s excesses ?
Then selling our assets to cover up their defective digresses ?
But making sure of Consultant’s K(ick)-B(ack) Commissions ?
And “ factoring –in ” those “secret conditions ” ?
No Landmark Library in Artsdepot ?
No Feasibility Study on the same ?
No Talks with Artsdep Management ?
No Human Rights , to blame ?
To destroy Friern Library on such grounds ?
Such Arrogance simply just Astounds !!!
That is , until the underlying logic is exposed ,
Then asked in sweat :-
“ How much Commission should I get ? ”
Council “ short term gains ” , will create
Jo Public’s “ irreparable Long term losses ” ,
For the “ Whole Local Community ” ,
For pleas such as these , Council’s proud to admit ,
“ We have acquired stone-hearted immunity ” .
But , hang on , I have a Duty ? Well , How and Why ?
Electors just shout “Crucify ! ”
I do have a Duty ? Well , Where and Who ?
Should I admit , that we don’t have a clue ?
What ? A fiduciary duty , you call it ? And another confirm ?
Should we vote that we won’t offer compromise ?
And with luck , Jo “ Stupid ” Public won’t even realize ?
Since I wasn’t aware – is it best I keep quiet ? –
What if They find out and They start to shout ?
At any cost - must we avoid Riot ?

Neva Carmouche 31 March 2012

1 comment:

  1. Speak truth unto Power
    They close their ears
    Speak truth to the People
    That's what they want to here

    Look after all children
    In all walks of life
    They are our future
    Innocent victims of strife
    Keep them safe from PIE
    Let know one deny
    Keep them safe from the snare
    We are Watching don't dare!

    We are looking to be fair

    Good poem Neva, the balance of the scales, fairness and honesty is what common law wanted to address, it did, but somehow it has lost its way in many respects, it will I'm sure come back.

    ReplyDelete

I now moderate comments in the light of the Delfi case. Due to the current high incidence of spam I have had to turn word verification on.