Prolific author and poet Michael Rosen has produced a beautiful poem in defence of Jeremy Corbyn.
It was written after Corbyn was savagely criticised by desperate pundits for his coat choice at London’s Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
A long-term Corbyn defender
Rosen has been a long-term supporter of Corbyn, both during his initial leadership bid in 2015 and through internal Labour coup attempts in 2016:
He has also routinely raised his head well above the parapet to defend the Labour leader, notably during the so-called Labour antisemitism ‘crisis’ [note: Rosen is Jewish].
The poem
But in his latest poem, Rosen – who once contributed to a publication called Poets for Corbyn – suggests deeper reasons why elements of British society are so hostile to Corbyn when it comes to matters of war.
It’s titled The War of Corbyn’s Coat:
If Corbyn’s coat is wrong,
the others’ coats must be right.
The dead cannot see coats.
Day cannot see night.
Hurrah for the warriors of the press!
We know what rocks their boat:
at the sight of a million dead,
they quibble over Corbyn’s coat.
Let us praise famous coats,
worn to mourn the dead of war;
worn by those who lead us
as their bombs slay even more.
It’s not his coat they hate.
That’s not really their cause
What gets up all their noses?
He opposes all their wars.
Let us imagine the day –
or it could perhaps be night.
The politicians start a war
and no one turns up to fight.
He then added at the end:
Maths:
1 wrong Corbyn coat = bad man;
Therefore 1 good coat = good man.
Trump wears a good coat.
Therefore
Trump = good man.
Tomorrow’s lesson:
SS Officers’ lovely leathers.
Inspiring stuff
Other Twitter users were inspired to add their own verses to Rosen’s poem:
In a world where political debate involves shouting and ranting on social media, Rosen’s use of a poem shows us all that we can show dissent in more creative ways.
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