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Yorkshire Bylines
Home Society Poetry

A Beginner’s Guide to 4-D Chess

New emperor. New clothes. Same old game.

Steve Pottinger by Steve Pottinger
25-09-2024 18:40 - Updated on 28-09-2024 22:35
in Poetry
Reading Time: 1 min read
A A
25/09/2024. New York, United States. Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media as he attends the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street

image by Number 10. Flickr creative commons

Share on Bluesky

Play the man, and not the ball.
Sneer about 2019, the impotence
of protest. Say nothing of slaughter.

Talk tough on benefits
in your free suit, glasses, shoes.
Mention veterans. Stop boats.

Glastonbury tickets trump digital tax.
You have a right to watch football.
Let me be clear. These are facts.

Your team, a snout.
Taylor Swift, a trough.
Isn’t it nice, the quiet?

At the helm of our nation’s photocopier:
grown-ups. Sensible. Beige.
Pastiches of Cool Britannia.

Your vision of the future?
A tribute act. Stamping
outsourced. Hail profit. Forever.

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Steve Pottinger

Steve Pottinger

Steve is a poet, author, and a founding member of Wolverhampton arts collective Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists. His work has appeared in magazines and anthologies, and he’s a regular contributor to online poetry platforms. You can discover more of his work via his website, on X @BigStevePoet, or follow him on Bluesky

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