This is probably the last of my series of Parrot poems. They were written quite thick and fast through June, with various very topical references. Thanks to my friend Roger Chaffin for suggesting I use the rhyme royal form.
The references to a parrot come from a long and magnificent poem written in the reign of Henry 8th by the… continue reading
Parrot Speaks True and Plain
… Parrot Speaks of the Brexit Agon
“Taisez- vous, Parrot, tenez vous coy !” cries Galathea. “You said earlier you’d taisez -vous, but still you go on ! Have you forgotten all your Tudor French ?”
But then we read : “Haec res acu tangitur, Parrot, par ma foy.”
It’s Galathea again, or someone, speaking to Skelton in Tudor French and Latin. She means : “That hit… continue reading
Parrot Speaks of Youth and Hope
Skelton’s parrot is a bird of paradise. But he mustn’t go on too long. If he has truth to tell in our storm, and wants to be heard, he has to be strategic. His cage is also his sanctuary.
… continue reading
Parrot Speaks of Community and Dust
The three Parrot sayings going up this morning come more from Skelton’s original “Speak, Parrot” text than the two that went up yesterday. You can find at least some of the original poem on the home page of this blog (see right hand side). Obviously I’ve changed a great deal. But though the roots are centuries old, I feel close… continue reading
Parrot Speaks of Law and Dust
The caged parrot keeps talking and seems to have quite a lot to say. His original author John Skelton was alive during the Reformation, another time in which England broke away from Europe in various ways. For the Reformation was not just a matter of religious upheavals and a royal divorce. There was also a power grab and a land… continue reading
Parrot speaks of The People’s Will
Does May really mean what she is doing here ? There is a dog whistle sounding whenever she intones this dreadful phrase “I am delivering the “People’s Will.” In the latest examples of it, she is setting herself up as the “People’s” friend and ally – against and as opposed to their own parliament and democratic system. It is a… continue reading
Parrot speaks of a Pit Bull
Paul Dacre, longtime editor of the Daily Mail, a frantic and irresponsible source of Brexit propaganda, who used his right to free speech and his platform for delivering it, much less for the truth and the public good than for a chance just to bully and abuse and sell a demagogic line, will be stepping down in November. The Mail’s… continue reading
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