Privatisation

Privatisation

Come gather round children and sit on the floor,
I'm sorry there aren't any chairs any more.
Take this rag, little Johnny, wipe the tears from your eyes,
The news is our nursery has been privatised.
What's that, Helen darling, oh where have you been,
You don't even know what privatisation means.
So for anyone else here who has any doubts,
Letter by letter, we'll spell the word out.

P is for profit, pollution and plunder,
R is for rorting and ripping asunder.
I's for insider trading and inequity,
V is for the vandals who destroy industry.
A is for avarice, a posh word for greed,
And T is for taking much more than you need.
I is for ill-gotten gains indiscreet,
S was for service, but that's now obsolete.
A is for axing employment and jobs,
T is for tax-breaks for those at the top.
I O's for if only, if only we'd known that
N is for the Nothing which is what we now own.

So come gather round children and sit on the floor,
I'm sorry there aren't any chairs any more.

— Geoff Francis

From GLW issue 337