Don't Say a Word
Hush little baby, everything’s fine,
just down the road is a bauxite mine.
Go to sleep now, don’t you weep.
The coal seam gas is fracking deep.
Don’t worry, honey, when the tap spews flame
I think you’ll find that no-one is to blame.
Hush little baby, don’t make a noise.
We’re out protesting with the big girls and boys.
Lie down quiet, don’t make a sound.
A taser might hurt but it can’t leave a wound.
There there, darling, all will be well.
(Your Daddy’s in a cell, and your Mumma’s in hell.)
The Eerie Nursery Rhymes challenge at 'imaginary garden with real toads' calls for 'seemingly sweet lullaby-like poems which ooze ... creepiness.' Perhaps this isn't weird enough to qualify – yet, for me, coal seam gas fracking is about the scariest, most sinister thing on the planet at present, and strip mining not far behind it. This is to the tune of 'Hush Little Baby (don't say a word)' – a traditional lullaby, used in Porgy and Bess.
This is wonderful Rosemary. Super, super creepy! And plays on the anaesthesia of looking the other way..... I really enjoyed it. What a great challenge! I might try one too, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI especially like the way the rhythm works in this poem, recalling the traditional lullaby, and Tewantin Te poem is linked to the environmental disaster of fracking
ReplyDeleteGood one, Rosemary!
ReplyDeleteCreepy and scary. Has impact. Thanks also for sharing the Erie information
ReplyDelete