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The Discharge of the Woke Brigade

—after Tennyson

Half a mil, half a mil,
__Half a mil onward,
__All from the Treasury
____Filched the encumbered.
__‘Forward, the Woke Brigade,
__Mooch till the end!’ Prof said.
__Into the jaws of debt
____Dove the encumbered.

__‘Forward, the Woke Brigade!’
__Was there a lib dismayed?
__Not though the welshers knew
____Prof was a drunkard.

__Theirs not to make reply,
__Theirs not to reason why,
__Theirs but to bilk us dry,
__Into the jaws of debt
____Dove the encumbered.

__Lender to right of them,
__Lender to left of them,
__Lender in front of them
____Phoned them unnumbered.
__As obligations swelled,
__Boldly they shirked and well,
__Into the jaws of debt,
__With a car loan as well,
____Dove the encumbered.

__Crashed all the markets there,
__Crashed from the coffers bare;
__Never a deal less square,
__Charging their PhDs, while
____All the world wondered.
__Enrolled till they were flat broke,
__Borrowed the righteous woke,
__Loan and commitment
__Dashed with a mere pen stroke,
____Writ off and sundered.
__Then they went back to school, but
____No longer encumbered.

__Can their vainglory fade?
__Oh the discharge they made!
____All the world wondered.
__Dishonor the trick they played,
__Dishonor the Woke Brigade,
____National blunder.

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Peter Lillios resides in Sound Beach, New York. He is an auditor by profession.

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6 Responses

  2. Cynthia Erlandson

    What a brilliantly humorous idea — this is a wonderful day-starting poem for me today, Peter! Tennyson would be proud.

    Reply
  3. Warren Bonham

    I’ve been meaning to read Tennyson for a long time and your poem made shamed me into doing so. His version wasn’t bad, but I think I like yours better.

    Reply
  4. Mark Stellinga

    Excellent piece, Peter – and what a cleverly unique way to share your astute perspective on what occurred over the past 4 years with the ‘Liberals’ in control. I’m with James – ‘Very, very funny and very very good!’

    Reply
  5. Joseph S. Salemi

    This is a great take-off on the Tennyson poem, which does lend itself to parody and spoofing. Here the poet has taken a classic piece about a military blunder and re-imagined it as a political/ideological blunder. Wonderful work!

    Reply

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