tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24115543875129266472024-02-20T13:58:46.944-08:00Stephen Wylie's WritingsStephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-18350583690690458552014-05-04T16:10:00.002-07:002014-06-02T16:39:59.488-07:00Ultras Attack Donetsk<pre><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">The thugs got off their buses,</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">Shoving each other and mouthing curses.</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">They came to Donetsk for a grand day out,</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">Eager to quarrel, fight and shout.</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">They meant to kick some Russki arse,</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">But their brutal plan soon turned to farce,</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">As they clashed with Russians as hard as they are.</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">Of FC Dnipro they are ultras,</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">Fighting and violence are their mantras.</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">Their 'Right Sector' hat was on that day,</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">There was no football game.</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">They got their arse kicked anyway,</span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">The outing ended in shame.</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Obviously, things have got a lot worse since I wrote this, Right Sector are using</span></span></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">guns and f<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;">i</span>rebombs now. </span></span></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-77968594022382926572014-04-24T17:11:00.001-07:002014-04-24T17:12:17.213-07:00The Sinking of the Sewol<pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Sewol is a Korean ferry which sank with great loss of life</span></span>.</pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">How pleasant it must be,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After disaster falls,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To be second-guessed by amateurs</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On all your judgement calls.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To have loudmouth politicians</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Piss on you from great height,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Seeking political advantage,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And burbling half-baked shite.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A proper investigation</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Requires a degree of maturity,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">An emotional condition</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rare in this century.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Would an earlier generation</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Have had the needed wisdom</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To await a Board of Inquiry,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Instead of ranting with such freedom?</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The toxic media spotlight</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Both pressures and allures,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bringing out the worst in leaders,</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who act like sleazy media hures.</span></span>
</pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-73948190416360205242014-04-14T14:18:00.000-07:002014-04-14T14:18:39.333-07:00Occupation of Tikrit 2005
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In harsh and reeking old Tikrit,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Everything smells of death, piss and shit.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Each day the bombs are in the same place,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Yet the Yanks still drive right past it.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Over and again they go off in their face;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But they never learn a thing.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They're lucky most of the bombs are pathetic.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Unwanted paper blows free on the wind.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Dogs lie decaying beside the road.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Each carcase serves as a booby-trapped goad,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>To Yanks who're accustomed to tidy lands,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Freshened air, and rotting meat binned.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>At least they're wise to that one.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Line 2 is a paraphrase from 'An Angel from Hell,' by Spc Ryan A. Conklin.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A ground-breaking book, warmly recommended. Very different from books</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">written by officers.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This poem is based on what I learned from it.</span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-52046714807098205742014-04-06T15:33:00.002-07:002014-04-10T13:35:33.488-07:00New Cold War<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>And so they start a new Cold War;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Just what I always wanted!</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>That pseudo-peace was such a bore.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>So Ho! Ho! Ho! for a nuclear glow,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>To illuminate our bankrupt future.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Nazi louts bully and shout,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>While Europe's leaders bow and scrape:</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In old Kiev they'll be found out.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>With black and red their shoulders draped,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Right Sektor rule in Maidan Square;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Have turned it into a new Wolf's Lair:</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A black hole of despair.</b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This was actually written before Sashko Bily was shot, and the crackdown </span></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">on Right Sector began. Their decision to contest the Presidential election</span></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">may have antagonised some of the other fascists:-) </span><b>
</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-39122186364074426982014-04-02T18:31:00.000-07:002014-04-03T06:39:19.060-07:00Sashko Bily Falls Silent in Ukraine<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Right Sector are a fascist lot;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>One of their leaders has been shot.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Now that he's dead I guess he's not</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Going to blab to police in Russia,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>About what he was doing in Chechnya.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Russia demanded his arrest,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>So the killers ungloved their iron fist.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Within two days he was shot dead;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>All the secrets in his head</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Have passed into the mist.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In Sashko's life, violence wasn't rare;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>So I don't complain that his fate was unfair.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>He should have chosen his friends with more care.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It's claimed he died by his very own hand;-)</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But that's not accepted by his angry band.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Right Sector riot and threaten,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Have the authorities sweating;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They menace the parliament building with force.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Some government ministers are just as coarse,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>And have as little legitimacy.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What gives <i>me</i> pause for thought,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Is to wonder what vital info he'd got,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>That meant he must fall silent.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Accused of torture and abuse,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In the Lubyanka his tongue might have loosed.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But they don't have to worry any more.</b></span></span>
</pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-33682707635621281402014-03-27T17:52:00.000-07:002014-04-02T18:32:38.450-07:00Grantrover Meadows<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In England's fields, the crud lies steaming;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The landowner's new car is gleaming.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In upland meadows, sheep are grazing;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The public subsidy's amazing.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Without a handout, nowt would happen;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They tax us hard, to watch cows crapping.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>For helpless townies, all is begrudged;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Range Rover man gets rich from turd.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>No sign here of free enterprise,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Though ministers praise it to the skies.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Landowners live on government dole,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>While affecting to despise the prole</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Who gets a fraction of the dosh,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Tories hand out to the posh.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The tenant farmer's not so flash,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It's owners who get all the cash.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A grant for digging ditches, then</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A grant to fill them in again.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In fact, I'm led to understand</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They get grants just for owning land.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Grants for this, and grants for that,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A grant for every beast that's shat</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>On England's green unpleasant land.</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-56470881094913107332014-03-25T18:12:00.000-07:002014-03-25T18:12:14.404-07:00Osborne Flashes the Red Box
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>He would like to pose bluff and hearty for posterity,</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But is trying to sell us austerity,</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>And his uncertainty</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Shows on his face:</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A man who secretly fears disgrace.</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>His posture copies Chancellors of the past,</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As he tries to get some bullshit past</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The long-suffering British public;</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Relying on the support of the middle-class,</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>He tries to whet their avarice,</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>So they won't notice</b></span></span><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What he's really up to.</b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is based on an exercise from a workshop. Line 1 is due to Raymond Carver.</span><b> </b></span></span><br />
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-10057529906659031082014-03-20T20:09:00.004-07:002014-03-20T20:10:58.845-07:00Borrowing a Guitar<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Some hapless chap wants to play us a tune,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But he's forgotten to bring his guitar;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>So he keeps on trying to borrow one,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Though he's had no luck so far.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>"Get yer hands off of mine," </b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The musicians all groan,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>"My guitar's far too fine.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ye should've brought yer own."</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It doesn't help that he's such a noob,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A man who's entirely unknown;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>No-one's willing to give this rube</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A helping hand with a loan.</b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">No surprise he's not been back to the folk club. </span><b>
</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-23249459013790252612014-03-07T14:40:00.003-08:002014-03-07T14:40:31.591-08:00Inflexibility
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A man rings the pet shop, and asks for a dog.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>"I've got a live cat and I've got a dead dog,"</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Said the owner, "Which one will you have?" </b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>"I want a dog, a dog I must have,"</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Said the man, "Of cats, I'm no fan."</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The owner brings the dog around in his van,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Takes payment, and makes off as fast as he can.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They find that the dog will not play with the kids,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As you'd hope that a household pet should;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But - there was no reason to expect that it would.</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-78117549873706433792014-03-07T14:38:00.000-08:002014-03-07T14:38:45.183-08:00Feynman's Fool
<pre style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman wrote: </span></span></pre>
<pre style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the </span></span></pre>
<pre style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">easiest person to fool.” He didn't leave detailed instructions, unfortunately.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>No-one fools you like you do,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Just as Dick Feynman spoke.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Compared to ego's potent brew,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Human insight is a joke;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Our self-perception's up in smoke.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Can we escape the self-deception</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Feynman warned us of?</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Become a rare exception,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Exempt from vacuous self-love,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Though ego and folly go hand-in-glove?</b></span></span>
</pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-87712456664010694352014-02-22T07:29:00.000-08:002014-02-22T07:29:05.411-08:00Tiger by the Tail
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>When you have a tiger by the tail,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>You care the most about which way it's going;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Cling on, and hope you do not fail</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>To make the best of how events are flowing.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Your enemies demand that you condemn</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The tiger and its every deed and act.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>If wise, you'll pay no heed to them,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Focus on trying to keep yourself intact.</b></span></span>
</pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-46994797456527546712014-02-20T16:42:00.000-08:002014-02-20T16:42:16.676-08:00Darkness Lessens
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Slowly winter's darkness lessens,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Solstice gloom abates;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As it does our spirit freshens,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Attains enlivened states.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pale snowdrop blossom</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Refreshes hopes,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In a landscape softened</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>By replenished light.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As nature quickens,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Grows lushly verdant,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Keenly our mind anticipates</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A Springtime bloom that scintillates.</b></span></span>
</pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-62259585033388831782014-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:002014-02-19T10:36:54.459-08:00A Fine WatchI was in a Kurdish cafe the other night, and accidentally dropped my pocket watch on the floor. The proprietor picked it up for me, and commented that he had one just like it, except his had a chain.<br />
I explained that the chain that came with mine was no good, so I had removed it.<br />
His was plated in fine silver, and dated from 1923.<br />
I confessed that mine was a cheap Chinese fake, from eBay.<br />
He told me he had got his from a market stall, the person who sold it only charged £2.50!<br />
My fake cost £5 :-(<br />
At least I don't have to wind it up. <br />
<br />
<br />Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-33014920575804629132014-02-18T14:34:00.000-08:002014-02-23T17:11:36.460-08:00Grand Dreams<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>'Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.'</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It's a kind of wild insanity</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>To think that we should know it all,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Even though we are so small.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>We're cousin to the hairy ape,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Yet robe ourselves in wizard's cape.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Our dreams are grandiose in scope,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Though for insight we must grope</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In the dimness of our simian minds.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>We still harbour aspirations,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Despite our innate limitations, </b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>That we can comprehend all things.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Cold truth delivers painful stings.</b></span></span> </pre>
<pre> </pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The first line is, of course, a quote from one of Shakespeare's famous Hamlet soliloquies.</span>
</pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-87370852344393511602014-02-18T14:31:00.002-08:002014-02-18T14:31:44.000-08:00Comedy Festival
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Can the Comedy Festival</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Destroy your sense of humour?</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Hour after hour of trying to laugh</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Can be a bit of a bummer.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>True humour comes from daily life</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>And has a spontaneous ring.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But monetising it is rife,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They'll suck the blood from anything.</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-27939296200307533672014-02-18T14:28:00.002-08:002014-02-18T14:28:48.881-08:00Swans in the Night
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>On Mile Straight the swans are sleeping;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Only one a watch is keeping.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The others float on current free</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Heads laid upon their backs.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Lost in dream,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They let the stream</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Take them where it will.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mile Straight is part of the Grand Union Canal running near the centre of Leicester.</span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-62864415740939231452014-02-17T06:40:00.000-08:002014-02-17T06:40:50.598-08:00Bacon or Sausages?<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Forty-two mil for a painting</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Done by Francis Bacon.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Supposed to be his boyfriend,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It looks like mangled sausages;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Which sends disturbing messages</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>About humanity's values.</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-75864717832887856992014-02-13T13:59:00.002-08:002014-02-16T10:28:34.518-08:00Acceptance and Rejection<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>If I cried when anyone died,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>When would I stop sobbing?</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Six billion folk on Earth in all,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Not one of us immortal.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tabloid papers they all say</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A killer storm is on its way!</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It may blow one or two away;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I won't let it spoil my day.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Headlines howl of disaster ahead,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As though we soon should all be dead.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I greet it with phlegmatic shrug.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The media's like an addict's drug,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A conveyor belt of misery.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They won't get to me today.</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-25750249597931741032014-02-12T09:26:00.002-08:002014-02-12T09:26:23.185-08:00Crucifixion
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Why crucify a tree?</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Seems quite odd to me.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Yet in the world of horticulture,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>This concept's very popular.</b></span></span>
</pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-9959448577699551922014-02-12T09:23:00.002-08:002014-02-12T09:23:58.829-08:00Indiscreet Display
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sitting in the launderette,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Waiting while my clothing dries.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Young girl bends to load a washer,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Her bum crack's right before my eyes!</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I'm pretending not to look.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>These low-cut trousers that she's got</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Really do not hide a lot.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The effect holds no allure.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The friend she's with is more attractive;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>No surprise <i>her</i> style's demure.</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-64676290472737265992014-02-04T07:06:00.000-08:002014-02-09T14:45:54.621-08:00Jade Rabbit<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Jade Rabbit wanders round the moon:</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Will Chinese folk arrive there soon?</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They have their eye on Luna's craters,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Are sending complex apparatus.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Is it all for national glory?</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A dull old patriotic story?</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Or do they have real aspiration</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Toward a meaningful exploration?</b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
</b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Jade Rabbit is a lunar rover operated by the People's Republic of China. </span><b>
</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-71386179079572399712014-02-02T16:07:00.001-08:002014-02-02T16:07:41.910-08:00World War One (Revised Edition)
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Easy to rewrite history,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Now that they all are dead.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Dan Snow's the lead revisionist,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>He'll rearrange our heads.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Forget contemporary accounts,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Replace with an all-new version,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>That makes the generals into heroes</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>And dispels the harsh aspersions.</b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dan Snow has tried to 'debunk' the 'myth' that our troops in WW1</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">were 'lions led by donkeys'. He uses the straw man technique, and</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">answers a charge other than the one that was made, i.e. he defends their</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">courage when it was their competence that has been impugned. He </span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">also asserts they had been 'trained to fight small colonial wars'.</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Everyone had known for years that war in Europe was likely, as is</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">obvious from contemporary documents e.g. '<i>The Riddle of the Sands</i>'.</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The basic method of trench warfare had been invented during the </span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">American Civil War, as had iron-clad battleships and submarines.</span></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There was no excuse for a lack of readiness.</span></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-general/" target="_blank">The General - by Siegfried Sassoon</a> </span></span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25776836" target="_blank">Snow's revisionism</a> </span><b>
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Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-83691921666797602792014-02-02T15:30:00.000-08:002014-02-04T07:00:26.049-08:00Winter in High Latitudes<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The sun first rises, then it sets.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I'm not ready for it to set just yet.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>But it does it anyway.</b></span></span>
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Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-20196768047098060212014-02-01T12:14:00.001-08:002014-02-01T12:14:15.445-08:00No-one Expects the Modern Imposition
<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>People try to impose themselves</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Even on our inner being.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It's not enough we let them rant,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They insist on us agreeing,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As though we must join in their chant.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Their effrontery's breathtaking.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They insist they're always right,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Want to make a new orthodoxy.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>They try to achieve oversight,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Force through their notions so poxy.</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Freedom was a passing phase;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>We haven't got the moxie</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>To stand up for our rights.</b></span></span></pre>
Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2411554387512926647.post-62829114190567813752014-01-31T17:01:00.003-08:002014-01-31T17:14:50.927-08:00Pan Semi-Sapiens<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Uncomfortably poised between two worlds,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>We carry on as best we can;</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Too smart to be a chimpanzee,</b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Too ape to be a sapient man.</b></span></span></pre>
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<pre><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The title means 'part-smart ape' in English. </span><b>
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Stephen Wyliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367446501235712116noreply@blogger.com0