Land of Hope and Glory

I didn’t ask to be born
in this country of land, hope and glory
of poverty strewn and towers burnt
and of people ignored, shamed, denied.

[The Economy is the thing, they said, bringing Prosperity to all]

So, Be Proud, they said,
of your roots.
Meanwhile, they sell weapons to kill.
Follow the trail
of money and oil to sully the soil
of people, humans fleeing: no safe haven here
they will find somewhere else to shiver and starve.

The hopes of generations covered by mislay
of money
to buy
the things they did not [really] want:
the plastics, the toys, the clothes and the shoes.
All necessary to feel something,
something at all.

We do not know how to combat this loss, except
procreate more kids,
who don’t give a toss.

But they did not ask to be born here today.
So, what can you do? What can we say?
One day, we hope,
it
will just go. Go away.