The Ivory Clad Towers

Look up 

At the ivory clad towers

See the serpents, wound around the necks of rats Whispering in the ears of cameras

Hear the chortles of attempted mockery dripping down

Sprinkles of sugar glass

Missing us by miles

Disperse the colours of political spectrums

Look left look right with empathy

The ones chewed up, spat out by failure, outcast like lepers

The ones soaked in the sweat of a crisis

The ones abandoned, discarded like fast food wrappers

The ones fleeing atrocities we can’t start to believe

The ones who carry the anger of Grenfell The ones stained with the blood of Orgreave

The ones who wear the resilience of Batley, Manchester, London

Agitate the notions

Of communities

Separated by distrust

Weakened by misinformation

See the strength in people power

Of communities

Stronger in solidarity

Greater together

Look down

At those ivory clad towers

See their faces turn from mockery to shock

As we pour our pride down their throats like holy water

Hear the rallying cry raining down Shards of stained glass Decorating the causeway onward

Simon Widdop