Devastating
gruelling
what a cruel night
and so unexpected.
Friends and colleagues
dismissed
so much expertise
discarded
as if on a whim.
But new members
signing up in thousands
standing up for ideals
of fairness and honesty
in a society where
fear and grievance
is the norm.
So moving forward
with fresh commitment and confidence
we come together
with our skills and strengths
to rebuild the party
which cares about people
and where the individual matters.
A fairer society with
equal opportunity for all
* Sue Sherwood is a new member of the Liberal Democrats from North Norfolk.
16 Comments
Labour in turmoil.
Tory dog whistles get blown.
Whither the Lib Dems?
A Lady with a bit of class. Wish I could be adept in the poetry area.
“so unexpected”. Really?
Denialism won’t take us forward.
“So unexpected”, I give up, it was obvious to many of us but nobody listened or simply refused to, starting with Ashdown..
Not in the same spirit, but this was the last poem I wrote:
http://joeotten.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/with-apologies-to-william-mcgonagall.html
(and good job too you might say)
Lovely Sue – honest and uplifting. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Good work Joe!
Here is another haiku Paul (with apologies to Yoda)
When fear leads to hate
If Lib Dems existed not
Reborn they must be!
And good work Sue of course!
Why I am a Liberal by Robert Browning
“Why?” Because all I haply can and do,
All that I am now, all I hope to be,–
Whence comes it save from fortune setting free
Body and soul the purpose to pursue,
God traced for both? If fetters, not a few,
Of prejudice, convention, fall from me,
These shall I bid men–each in his degree
Also God-guided–bear, and gayly, too?
But little do or can the best of us:
That little is achieved through Liberty.
Who, then, dares hold, emancipated thus,
His fellow shall continue bound? Not I,
Who live, love, labour freely, nor discuss
A brother’s right to freedom. That is “Why.”
Well done Sue.
For the 1996 publication: *Why I Am a Liberal Democrat*, I wrote:
A very liberal haiku
Because restrictions rankle
boundaries limit
privilege petrifies
poverty paralyses
borders divide
discrimination deadens
fear frustrates
ignorance imprisons
conformity constrains
class encrusts
myth enshrouds
duty deforms
authority anaesthetises
Let me love liberty
trust tolerance
explore experience
encourage equality
enjoy justice
challenge convention
crave community
give generously
value individuality
spread concern
relish reason
pursue peace
demand democracy
Does anyone else remember the late Henry Young, who used to walk round Liberal assemblies with a tray suspended from his neck selling pamphlets of his poetry?
He was much concerned with pacifist causes and so that was what we assumed the poems would be about when Liberator gave in to his pleas and bought a copy.
We were startled to discover a poem that began: “The bed was hot and so were you…” Ooh-er!
Mark, I do remember Henry Young. From Harrow, yes? He advised me once to sign up people to the Liberal Party at flower shows. Although I have never actually followed that advice I still like to think that there is an element of good sense in it.
I am not a great one for poetry but I liked Sue’s.
I should also note that Mark Smulian again brings smut to an LDV comments thread:-). This is not in any way unwelcome although obviously not as good as his last effort. . https://www.libdemvoice.org/whats-your-funniest-canvassing-story-44872.html
There was an old party in yellow
Who spoke in a whisper, not bellow.
While their leaders enthused,
The plebs were confused.
Can we count on your vote? Hello? Hello?
Well done, Sue. Unexpected? Well, most of us knew we’d be taking a beating, but not that bad in terms of seats. As has been extensively discussed, polls including Ashcroft’s Tory one showed a much less drastic decline in our held seats.
Still, as Sue says, there are signs of a rebound and we have an opportunity.
Joe Otten 31st Aug ’15 – 12:57pm Please may we have a transation of “kiki said… “
“Devastating, gruelling, what a cruel night, and so unexpected.” – With all due respect it shouldn’t have been totally unexpected. Every single election after 2010 told exactly the same story about what could be expected in 2015.
“Friends and colleagues, dismissed, so much expertise, discarded, as if on a whim.” Again, with all due respect, I don’t think it was done on a whim. More like out of sheer anger and a feeling of betray. Your core voters in 2010 were young people and those in higher education, the party and every single MP made a commitment to them to vote a certain way on a policy that was very important to them and would shape the rest of their lives and that promise was widely broken, then the leader said he wasn’t sorry he broke it he was just sorry for promising it in the first place. Discarded yes, and rightfully so in my opinion. But certainly not on a whim.
Rebuilding will be impossible without first learning from the defeat.