In all our sanctuaries we sit at risk

Tag: “Speak Parrot” by John Skelton

  • The Parrot Advises on Leadership

    Posted:

    This stanza offers some general thoughts on leadership and the part it plays – or fails to play. But it is also based on the specific image of the UK House of Commons, in which the Party of Government and the Party of Opposition face one another across the aisle. Neither of the present leaders…

  • The Parrot on the Quality of Clay

    Posted:

    The key-word here seemed to be “constructions.” We construct so much – thoughts, arguments, theories and views, no less than buildings, machines, policies, laws and stories… Yet do we pause and check very carefully the materials used for those constructions ? Are they sound ? Are the foundations on which they are based trustworthy, honest…

  • The Bird of Paradise Takes Another Look

    Posted:

    There was a strange pause in Brexit proceedings at around the time this stanza was written. May asked the EU for another extension and obtained it, amid outrage from the Tory grass-roots and right-wing. The right wing newspapers began to change the subject. Some writers began talking cautiously about Brexit having “failed.” Might that really…

  • Jez and John and the Little Weed

    Posted:

    There’s Jez and John and the Final Say. And there’s Bill and Ben and the Little Weed. Bill and Ben were Flowerpot Men and belong with Listen with Mother in the nurseries of the past, along with the Little Weed. And Jez Corbyn and John McDonnell ? Where do they belong ?… continue reading

  • The Parrot Wails

    Posted:

    The parrot thought he was studying the tea leaves. Instead he found himself watching in horror as the tea cup crumbled in his hand… continue reading

  • Maybot Senses our Shame

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    … continue reading

  • Parrot and the Dung Beetles

    Posted:

    For people in the UK, the stomach-churning mess and disgrace of Brexit, as it runs on and on from climax to climax – no “climax” really seeming to shift anything substantial – can sometimes seem the only show in town, a bit like a very serious illness in a family member. For those closely connected,…