They put me in charge
I wouldn’t shut up so they put me in charge!
Saying – ‘Get out of that!’ and ‘See if you can!’
So I had to make decisions, devise and plan
While keeping the sausages in the frying pan!
I ordered the civil servants to draw up a list
Of all of the jobs that currently exist,
And to provide a column for the lot,
Because I was going to decide what they got!
Well I put a cap on the footballers and executives,
Slashed the bankers bonuses – with menaces!
I quadrupled the salaries of teachers and nurses,
And suffered the howls, the derision and curses.
Well there were ructions when I finally
Got to the civil servants and politicians;
Seemed they valued themselves more highly
Because the made the decisions.
But I was having none of that!
I was in charge! I told them flat!
And while I was at it I slashed the actors,
Explaining that there were many factors.
For what was a human being worth?
Was it based on the nature of their birth?
Was it based on how much loot they could attract?
Or was it something more than that?
Were we giving just reward to the hardworking carers?
Or far too much to the greedy entrepeneurs?
Were the investors, gamblers and city crooks
Worth more than artists and those who write books?
And what about those who did the dangerous, dirty work?
The miners, sewage workers and those who did not shirk?
The soldiers who risked their lives in the mud
Whose worth was measured in their own blood?
Well I soon began to find the difficulties of the task,
The answers were different whoever you asked!
But one thing was abundantly clear!
When it came to fairness, we were nowhere near!
It was all a question of priority!
On that we could surely agree? But seemingly not.
Some wanted limousines
And some weren’t happy til they had a yacht!
Well the task was much harder than I’d thought
When valuing people, some counted for nought.
Some thought they were worth so much more,
And believed everyone else deserved to be poor.
But eventually I sorted it out
A fairer society was what it was all about!
None were rewarded too much, none too little
All were assessed on the truth of their mettle!
When the dust had settled back down
People began to look around
The gun runners now lived in poverty
And old peoples’ homes were places of glee.
They began to see that it was a happier place,
Where only the evil lived in disgrace.
Everyone had all that they could need
Without all the nastiness and selfish greed.
Opher – 14.7.2019
Wouldn’t it be nice if we were to get our values right? If peoples’ pay was in line with their worth and contribution? If nobody skimmed off more than their share and the people who worked hard and cared were rewarded, and the creative people received their fair share too!
Wouldn’t it be nice!