Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to my sons to witty jokes and dreadful puns I pledge allegiance to Aussie soaps to chasing all my dreams and hopes I pledge my allegiance to the Borough boys to Lewes FC, to making noise I … Read more
Marxist. Trade Unionist. Socialist-feminist. Author. Poet. Speaker. Tutor. RMT ex-Exec. Workers' Liberty. Autie. Bi. PUFC fan.
From sonnets to villanelles, limericks to ballads, the occasional rap and plenty of straightforward rants, serious and humorous and sometimes both, here is Janine’s verse.
I pledge allegiance to my sons to witty jokes and dreadful puns I pledge allegiance to Aussie soaps to chasing all my dreams and hopes I pledge my allegiance to the Borough boys to Lewes FC, to making noise I … Read more
counterchec, rubbernec strikebrea, pissta, heartbrea, troublema multitas, unmas bluestoc, foreloc motherfuc, bloodsuc wisecrac, backtrac benchmar, disembar pawnbro, keystro stockbro, anti-smo, undercoo, overloo hyperlin, freethin hallmar, reembar hitchhi, motorbi bootlic, politic rollic, nitpic lovema, muckra ransac, carjac, miskic, picnic upchuc, untuc … Read more
Opposing imaginary ribaldry Detestable protests at a library Serious, stern of jaw and dour Objecting to Drag Queen Story Hour Reckoning kids are groomed and primed – But why don’t they protest at pantomimes? Alarmed at the harmless, dressed-up take-up … Read more
You can’t say that on the 333 Believe you me The inspector will check and kick you off the upper deck I heard some dude once said it and he had his card well marked for all to see He … Read more
Tonight I went to Heaven after months of pain My friends held my hands, the man at the not-exactly-pearly gate checked my bag and the siren on the stage brought her dead pals to Heaven with her Tonight I went … Read more
Rebecca is a school refuser The lessons confuse her Miss knows her sister is a substance misuser It doesn’t excuse her She’s labelled a shirker, assigned to an overworked social worker, a conflict defuser But Becky’s still a school refuser Mason … Read more
We’d like you to strike when it doesn’t disrupt us when it won’t interrupt us going about our daily life We’d like you to strike when it won’t cause strife when no-one will notice Please don’t misquote us Of course … Read more
Long long time ago, I can still remember How winter snow would make me smile And I knew when I had my chance We’d come inside to warm and dance And maybe we’d be happy for a while But February … Read more
Where is your title from? My father. No, but where is it really from? It’s been in the family for years. But where did your people get it from? I believe it was conferred on my noble ancestors by the … Read more
Give handouts to the City not the town Award the top the most, the bottom least and in the end, the wealth will trickle down So feed the finest to the howling hound The sparrow pecks the droppings of the … Read more
I want to pour my anger into a poem. I want it to drain from my scorched throat and flow down my arm, into my fingers, through my pen and onto the astonished page. I want my anger to desert … Read more
Autumn falls and storm clouds brew The post each day brings season’s chill The queue moves on a step or two The last demand is overdue It stands unopened on the sill As autumn falls and storm clouds brew They … Read more
A fortnight back, complaining about having to wait behind two others to use the cashpoint Now, happy to stand all day and night to file past a box with a crown and a cushion on top and inside, the body … Read more
Companies have suspended polluting the air Governments have suspended cutting our care Energy firms have suspended price rises Landlords have suspended nasty surprises Employers have suspended exploiting our labours Lobbyists have suspended cashing in favours Bosses have suspended giving the … Read more
Walk down locked and empty streets alone, arrive for start of shift, it’s bear-the-brunt time to serve some others’ families not your own Going from the home front to the frontline Frozen pay, now tiny, ice-cold ‘offers’, red-bordered bills alert … Read more
We’ve put our products’ prices up, that’s what we chose to do The power firms are doing it, so we can do it too We’re going to charge a fair chunk more to everyone who buys If they won’t pay … Read more
Heat less, eat less, fry less, buy less, waste less, taste less, nosh less, wash less, bath less, laugh less, phone less, own less, chance less, dance less, rave less, save less, drink less, think less, smoke less, be broke … Read more