Obeisance

Obedience
to indenture,
to law and statute,
to ever-grinding wheels
in the satanic mills we work
but do not own – is our destiny.

Ring the cathedral bells of industry
and the world of commerce turns, turned
by hands that do and make for scant reward
and still worship it for a pittance and a prayer;

half a pennyworth of pious self-respect is all it takes
to live the lie that most of what is done is for the best
and put to better use, albeit in the purses of those
who know how riches might as well be spent.

They say the poor are always with us;
but we are the poor, rich in time
and sweat , compelled to sell it
for pitiful wages and a price
we do not set.

© BH, 2025

---

The second half of this two-for-the-price-of-one visual.

It’s all very well combining two pointy poems about modern capitalism. It’s harder to render the words in a clear manner for them as wants to be sure they read right.

I needed two blog pages to do that - so here it is!