Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Qadhafi

“He’s turned the military on his own,”
says Cameron, sincere and open-handed,
“and thus this madman must be overthrown.”

We will not mention the example shown
in Derry, when the Government demanded
the military turn upon its own.

But rather let the unspun mind now hone
in on the view that Qadhafi should be branded
a madman who must now be overthrown.

When there’s a revolution ‘gainst the throne,
how should this treasonous act be countermanded
if not by turning soldiers on ‘their own?’

Mobilise the dentists? Maybe phone
the carpenters to get the rough wood sanded?
Would this stop ‘madmen’ being overthrown?

From desert scrub and toppled inert stone,
see how the hopes of Libyans expanded
since Qadhafi made the military his own.

But Cameron / Blair says we cannot condone
the use of force Qadhafi has commanded
and thus the madman must be overthrown.

Look how much the fledgling state has grown
since foreign occupation was disbanded,
then tell me the military’s not his own
and why this ‘madman’ should be overthrown.

4 comments:

Robin said...

Love this poem mate, reflects my thoughts exactly. the rebels in Libya are called freedom fighters. In any other country without Gadaffi as leader they would be terrorists. Sad thing is, when this is all over they probably will be.

Liz Rice-Sosne said...

Peter ... this is an interesting blog. I like the manner in which you expressed your sentiment. I'm a Yank ... I tend to love most things British ... except for their treatment of the Irish.

Jack Edwards Poetry said...

Brilliant poem, love the contrast between the two regimes in the first two verses. Great way to point out the hypocritical nature of global politics.
Also nice use of repetition throughout.

All the best
Jack Edwards

Peter Goulding said...

Many thanks for the comments - I suppose its back to the pro-American = freedom fighters, anti-American = terrorists thing.