I met a they the other day
They was labelled a “she” but wasn’t happy that way
“They was” isn’t correct, I hear you say
But if they is a singular – it must work that way
Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy to use
Whatever pronoun that you choose
It’s the grammar only that makes me wince
As our language suffers growing pains
As new views and agendas we evince
Padre
The problems are legion
Hard to believe
That the royals are lizards
And have us deceived
Conspiracy theories
From the moon to JFK
Bring out of the woodwork
Crazies having their say
Padre
“It was a brush with death, I tell you,” Mary declared to her friends Peter and Jane.
“What happened?” Jane exclaimed.
“I was crossing the little foot bridge over by the train station, and just as I was halfway over my phone rang. I stopped to get it from my jeans pocket, and I slipped.”
“You mean you fell from the bridge onto the tracks?” Peter asked with a worried expression.
“No, but I did drop my phone on the ground. My whole life is on it.”
Padre
Price gouging
Raking it in
Vendors getting fat
While times are thin
Panic buying
Of things in supply
No one really knows
The reason why
We just have to have it
Must go with the flow
All those in the queues
Surely must be in the know
Padre
We live in times troubled by the shadows of our past
Scenes of dominion, conquest, and segragation into castes
The strong they made decisions,
Made others yield and obey
It was what was normal then
Way back – just the other day
We strive to all be equal
At least in dignity and rights
But the shadows of our past
Can over us still benight
Padre
Drudgery, sludgery
Continuing the same of slog
That is the life you get
As just one of the system’s cogs
Do dare step out of line
And your own song boldly sing?
Let me know how that works out
As I do the expected thing
Padre
It was a labour worthy of Hercules. Flynn had hardly slept the night before owing to his awareness of the task that was before. Now the time had come and he would have to pull together every ounce of courage as he was about to enter into the unknown. This was not just the stretching of his comfort zone, but a true unheaval of the established order.
“All you need to do is go in and get it.” The words reverberated through his very being.
He took a deep breath and proceeded into the precincts of the charity shop and approached the counter.
“Do you – do you have a red scarf with dragonflies?” he asked. “My Gran said she thought she saw one here.”
“If we do it will be along the back wall,” the middle-aged volunteer said.
Flynn took another breath before setting out past the mismatched dishes, shapeless cardigans, and the ever present mustiness of the air.
There it was the scarf of his quest. He snatched it from the rack and hurriedly returned to the till.
“That will be two pounds,” the volunteer said kindly.
Flynn whipped out his phone to pay.
“Sorry we only take cash,” the volunteer said.
Cash? Flynn though, beginning to panic. Who uses cash?
Unwilling to be defeated he said that he would be right back and made his way to the ATM.
Flustered but not defeated, he returned and made the purchase.
In so doing Flynn had overcome the most extreme test yet to be encountered by a Gen Z. Little did he know that his greatest labour was yet to come when he would have to do battle with Gran’s rotary phone.
—————-
Padre
A day filled with meetings and agendas
Rushing between conference calls without end
It makes you wonder if there ever was a time
When we could just sit and chat with a friend
A day filled with minutes and motions
Procedural questions and rules to bend
Is this what we all have come to accept?
“It’s just normal,” or so we pretend
Padre (after a very long day)
It might seem obvious
Really quite plain
That the world’s
Not nearly the same
Things have altered
There’s been a shift
We might as well accept it
Rather than being miffed
There are things we can’t change
In fact, in future generations
Our past ways will seem strange
Padre
What is meant by “Policing by consent?”
The thing Robert Peel tried to invent
Is it merely policing in the Crown’s name
Or upholding the laws the people proclaim?
Public opinion gives its consent
It’s not up to the individual their opinions to vent
The law is the law
And all should be treated the same
If you disagree, you might well in gaol remain
Padre
