Suck it Up

"Suck it up, be quiet, you're hurting the cause
How very dare you, it's time to hit pause

Don't stand up and don't fight back
Not even with paper

It's unseemly, it's rude and it's just not done
Clutch your pearls quick, everyone

And no talk of systemic abuse by the boys
'Cos, they'll throw out their toys, 

With their bollocks claim
"It's the rough and tumble of politics"

So suck it up, Buttercup
They have a country to pillage

And turn about is only fair play
For bullies policing the meek

It's not for gravy trays shielded by money—

Money that doesn't want a better world
If it has to pay 2c in taxes

A.J. Ponder

Hiya, 

I'm hoping that a little righteous anger will lift your heart today, and maybe also have you looking beneath claims of bullying to see if there's a culture of bullying—one that picks on the bullied if they dare step out of line. 

P.S. Supporting me on ko-fi helps keep me writing poetry and books. Click on the picture and discover my wee ko-fi page. There may even be a few cute pictures of my two lovely cats, as well as some great books to buy.

Find my stories and support my writing on ko-fi   I'd love to know which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming

 poetry book—2024

 

The Wallux and the Seapeter, with apologies to Lewis Carroll

The Wallux was whining in the sky,
Whining with all his might
He said he was the chosen one 
And, I quote, an "entitled" little blight
Which was not so odd because
He was a self-indulgent little shite

"Oh voters, won't you vote for us,
Our eyes are very blue."
"And we will hurt the people
Who aren't you," the Seapeter quickly cried
"And we have gifts," The Wallux added,
Just wait to see what is inside. 

Mother voter eyed them warily
But her kin were keen
Come on, they said, let's go and walk
After all, our Mum is mean
And so the voters strayed
with promises of green. 

The Sea was smiling sulkily
Smiling with all his might
While the Peter led the Wallux around
By the balls of blight
"Come and deal," the Wallux crowed
While the Peter shrugged and said, "Well, I think I might."

And soon the Wallux and the Seapeter
Had become a thing. So now all three heads
Were as wet as wet could be,
And racist as heck to boot
Their smiles as slick and smarmy
As an old jackbooted coot

"Do you suppose," the Wallux said,
His greed so plain to see
"If we should fire the workers
There'd be more money for me,"
"Oh yes," the Seapeter heads cried
"Then you can give the rest to me."

With fork and knife and serving spoon
They tucked into the feast
"I weep for me," the Wallux said:
"Please, deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he dumped
Public sector jobs of every size

"It's such a shame," the Wallux said,
"That we can't fire some more."
"True that," Seapeter agreed
"I'd love to settle every score."
The Wallux rubbed his hands
"Maybe next time,
"I think the voters are getting sore."

And with that, the Wallux heaved his paunchy gut
And took his own pay rise,
(with sighs as to its size)
And so I'm asking you, dear voter
Shall we let this monster have it's run?
Or shall we tell the entitled blights
Their days destroying NZ are done.

  A.J. Ponder with apologies to Lewis Carroll and the Walrus and the Carpenter

Hi, thanks for reading. 

If you enjoy my poetry, you can help me publish more poems like this one by supporting me on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/ajponder 

 

Feel free to drop me a line to say hello, or tell me which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming poetry book.

A.J.

Bought ( PSA for a call for submissions for NZ's proposed code of conduct for political lobbyists )

No, it's not Tuesday, and hopefully this is going to be the quickest poem I've ever written—and all because I HATE absolutely LOATHE corporates and big money lobbying (bribing & or threatening) politicians to act against the best interests of us—the people the politicians are supposed to be serving. 

Bought

Well, the ciggy people bought our pollies
And now we have the smokes
Death and taxes is the joke

But the doctors aren't laughing.

And oil bought the roads but we can't know
How or why
Just that the roads must happen while our ferries die

While tourists and families are stranded.

And the landlords stormed the parliament and
Gave themselves a rise
While starving children of their lunches
And eating Bellamy pies 

Yes, they deny children while troughing it on the public dime.

And so those pollies are so happy
They've raided NZ lives for their greed
And the lobbyists are happy
They've paid pennies to make billions for big company greed

While our public servants are fired including those protecting our primary industries from tragedy.

So this post is to inform you
That this very Monday eve at 5pm 8 April
Is the deadline to say enough
We don't want bribery to succeed.

Yup this is a last-minute PSA: Monday 5pm is the deadline for responses to the lobbyists gutting of the proposed lobbying code of conduct that we so desperately needed to keep bribery and the revolving door in line.

Here's an article from people who know more than I do. It also has handy links to other countries codes of conduct: https://www.transparency.org.nz/blog/media-release-draft-voluntary-lobbying-code-of-conduct-lacks-substance

And here's the site where you can make submissions:

https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/political-lobbying/voluntary-code-of-conduct-for-political-lobbyists

"Us Two" by A. A. Milne

 

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:
"Well, that's very odd 'cos I was too.
Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.
"Let's go together," says Pooh.

"What's twice eleven?" I said to Pooh.
("Twice what?" said Pooh to Me.)
"I think it ought to be twenty-two."
"Just what I think myself," said Pooh.
"It wasn't an easy sum to do,
But that's what it is," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what it is," said Pooh.

"Let's look for dragons," I said to Pooh.
"Yes, let's," said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few-
"Yes, those are dragons all right," said Pooh.
"As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That's what they are," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what they are," said Pooh.

"Let's frighten the dragons," I said to Pooh.
"That's right," said Pooh to Me.
"I'm not afraid," I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted "Shoo!
Silly old dragons!"- and off they flew.

"I wasn't afraid," said Pooh, said he,
"I'm never afraid with you."

So wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
"What would I do?" I said to Pooh,
"If it wasn't for you," and Pooh said: "True,
It isn't much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. "That's how it is," says Pooh.

 

Winnie the Pooh is a beloved childhood nostalgia hit for me. I loved the poetry by A A Milne and its easy, flowing style. It takes a lot of work to get rhyme to flow so easily and naturally from the pen. :) 

But also it's an important thing to remember, sticking together is good. We can make the world better when we are not alone. 

Kia Kaha and happy Tuesday Poem flashback. :) 

A.J.

 

P.S. my A.A. Milne poems are here:My Minion, almost in the style of A A Milne's Market Square & Now We Are Old and Cynical.

My other posted A.A. Milne poems are here:The King's Breakfast as recited by Julie Andrews and Stephen Colbert, Teddy Bear, 

Can you see the Silence?

I have nothing but words to shine into the darkness
There are no dollars to buy your opinion
No marketing team to tell you what to think
Only words, and even those are murdered,
Hidden under the rubble of truth

All while oil lights the water
And munitions light the sky
And the smoke, the smoke
Is choking, burning, like phosphorous
Right down to the bone

Can you see beneath the noise?
If you look very carefully, you'll see
The gold-plated shackles
Placed on our democracy
Stretch to

An instant of clarity before
Twisted
Lies
Are
Spruiked

Wound over our eyes
And through our hearts
Choking our souls and silencing
Our screams with the nightmare cloth
Of kleptocratic dreams

A shroud of complacency
Woven from green dye and oil
While money buys the signal
And buries the noise

Can you see the silence?
The voices fallen quiet

Can you see the silence beneath the screen?

 A.J. Ponder

Well, I'm not sure if enjoyed is the right word, but I hope the poem has sparked something for you. It's one of my #protest poetry pieces.

If you enjoyed it, you may also enjoy some of my other protest pieces linked below, or if you'd rather have some fairy tale poetry my Portal to Fairytale poetry is here, or one of my personal favourites, Time Wyrm.

Your Billionaire Overlord: Today, I'm making the millions...

It's a New Age: The world's moved on. Once, the mighty pen could tear down kingdoms...

The Circle of Life :We have let the snakes...

Into the Underworld is almost here - Only 2 Days to go

 I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book! The third book in the Blood of the Fae series.

And it’s really close now, with only two days to go before you can join Ruby, her sister Pearl, and their kick-ass, bumbling grandparents as dragons attack the Library of Alexandria and Dream City falls to the skin walker, Wyrden.

Get ready to go Into the Underworld & pick up your copy today

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BR2KBQWV am aff link

Into the Underworld, Book 3 of the Blood of the Fae series

Start reading the series free on KU / Kindle Unlimited for a limited time

★★★★★ Edge of your seat action

★★★★★ A brilliant read

★★★★★ Non-stop battles, traitors, and surprises

★★★★★ A wonderful job bringing the Fae into a new light

★★★★★ Will have you entranced

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFBD3JGW am aff link

 

The Blurb for Into the Underworld: 

A daring unicorn rescue
A trapped librarian
A secret that will rock Brocéliande and change dragons forever

Ruby's daring rescue of her parents has failed. Queen Persephone has trapped her in the Underworld with her fairy godmother, Lettie.

Meanwhile, Ruby's sister Pearl is rescuing dragon eggs, unicorns and librarians, unaware of her family's fate or the secret her grandparents have uncovered that will change the fate of Brocéliande forever.

Journey into the Underworld with Ruby, Pearl, and their kick-ass, bumbling grandparents as dragons attack the Library of Alexandria and Dream City falls to the skin walker, Wyrden.

Don't miss out on the penultimate installment of this exciting adventure https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BR2KBQWV am aff link

 

Happy reading, Merry Christmas and a happy festive season

A.J. 

 

Into Faerland - Blood of the Fae, book 1

from USA Today Bestselling Author, A. J Ponder (yes, that's me!)

Into FaerLand

Humans seem to think fae are either flitting through the flowers drinking nectar,
or stealing children.

Well, only one of those is true.

We never steal children. We only swap them.

An eye for an eye, a child for a child.

Journey into Faerland, at your own peril.

And yes, I'm offering this 99c special for a limited time only (22 Aug).

*.•*´)¸.☆The Blurb*.•*´)¸.☆

“We never steal children. We only swap them. An eye for an eye, a child for a child."

Aiden is sent into demon territory to bring the Sword Master into New Avalon. The
mission doesn't go entirely to plan, and Aiden falls dangerously in love with the
Swordsmaster, Keera. She's pretty as a fae, and a strong, graceful fighter. With every
movement she makes, he falls harder. Keera and Aiden both ignore the warnings,
marry, and have two beautiful daughters.

Meanwhile, Keera’s swords, forged with cold iron, and adorned with silver and gold,
have angered the fae—and most especially King Hades and Persephone who rule
FaerLand.

Determined to pay the humans back, Queen Persephone orders two fae underlings, Lettie
and Zadie to switch their changelings for Keera and Aiden’s children. Lettie’s heart breaks
as Zadie tears her beloved changeling from her hands and replaces her with a snotty human
child. Now, the one person she loved in all the world is gone, she will do anything to bring
Nada back...

...including killing Keera and Aiden to end the fairy bargain.

Special price of 99c (Amazon aff link)

Into FaerLand Am aff link: https://amzn.to/3QDEeCu

 

Happy reading, A.J. 

P.S. If you love fae, you can also check out my collection of favourite Fairy Tale poems here, or one of my very
favourite poems, Stolen Time, here.