Grandma whitewashed steps

Grandma whitewashed steps

Took in sewing

And dirty washing

Anything to make ends meet,

She often did.

But it was hard

To achieve when the holes in socks

Were as big as potatoes

And still needed darning

Does anybody do that now?

Nobody was allowed to set foot

On a step until it was dry

Many did

And telltale footprints

Followed them down the street

They would get a flea in their ear

Which sounds dreadful

Tinnitus is a nightmare

So much for being all of a buzz

About the high-wage economy

Universal Credit

Social mobility.

The lie of a cradle to the grave

Philosophy

Of health care

When so many people fall

Through the cracks in the road

For want of a work order.

It is not communism

Or socialism

To abhor inequality

Of opportunity

So many good capitalists

Live on the brink,

In thrall to the possibility

Of wealth

When a nation’s good health

Depends more on

A guaranteed income

For the underclass

Than a boilermaker

Supporting the centre-left.

Soup kitchens are thriving

As restaurants close

And beneath the whitewash

Of a Wonderful Life

Every Christmas,

From here

To Monte Carlo

Breaks a bank

And picks a pocket

Or two.