Perhaps I would have fought

Perhaps I would have fought

In the Spanish war

On the right side of course,

Whichever one that was

As it depends on your point of view

But isn’t that always the way?

Lots of capitalists

Were anti-fascist

And fought

Defending loyalists

Even communists

What happened to them?

Oh yes,

They turned corruption

Into a lifestyle choice

Nothing prevents us from

Making alliances,

Stuff the protocol.

It is easy to befriend

A person

From wherever they hail

When we stand

Eye to eye.

Some people are good

At concealing the truth

Which can be a detail

Worth remembering

If we are to suffer

The indignity of an interrogation,

Liars always have a tell.

At an early age,

Trainee spies learn to discriminate

Telling as much truth as possible

Without giving it all away

If only the same could be true

Of the claims made by

Hair transplant clinics

Or any of the other companies who

Try to sell a wonder drug

A cure for cancer

You just rub on

Or mix it with food

Available at a special discount

For sufferers.

It is truly remarkable

At a time when the environment

Is under threat,

People still die needlessly

From preventable diseases,

Capitalist democracies

Try to make it easier

For companies to poison

The earth and

Fleece the poor.

Dictators and authoritarian

Leaders are no better

Trading in half-truths

As they napalm

Their neighbours

Send children off to war

With little understanding

Of what they are fighting for,

Rewriting history

Even as the storylines

Have yet to be completed.

Whilst those on the frontline

Play a game of football

Sing ‘I don’t like Mondays’

Or ‘Hey Jude’

In perfect harmony.

As the ghost of Hemingway

Tolls a bell from a distant

Watchtower

And we all come together

In a little rowboat

Clap hands.