BACK IN ANGER

i salute you
my patient ones
you dogged seedlings out there
who have kept on watching this space
as autumn golds faded into winter greys
as the stock markets waned and imploded
as credit crunched disconsolately through the fallen leaves
as the media frenzy reached fever pitch
over centaur o'barmy's impending election victory
that historic moment
when the first ever irish horseman reached the white house
as that nice mr mandelson returned to the government fold
after his brief spell in the euro playground
bullying into submission
some poor little countries with neither cash nor clout
same as ever
money talks
money walks
the credit crunchy
the o'barmy gravy train
mandy's our man
the new boss looking suspiciously like the old boss
the concerns of the rich and powerful
writ large over our tv screens and radio waves
tragically distracting us from the everyday catastrophe
of grinding poverty and environmental destruction
unravelling in the margins of our attention
but dontcha worry your little heads folks
dem most generous n contritious bankers n traders
will nobly troubleshoot that nasty financial glitch
that dashing new young pressie dent erect o'barmy
will scare away the big bad wolf
aint nothing too serious
aint nothing a little trillion-dollar bail-out
or a new fella on the driving range can't solve
as for fireseed
he writes his songs
he makes his music
he haltingly embarks on a new journey
following a faint and tortuous trail through dense forest
clambering over fallen trees
stumbling through thick undergrowth
to a destination still unknown
his mission somehow to ease the grinding poverty
to slow the environmental destruction
that engulfs the world's peripheral vision