Instant Citizen Execution

Instant Citizen Execution

They granted the authority to themselves

Backed by the belligerence of insanity

Initiated by some rogue gene that compels

A foolish man to set his stock in vanity

Citizens now walk the streets in fear

Of masked men that are emerging from history

Their mission smells of hate its purpose unclear

The leader floundering in instruction contradictory

A right to protest is now seemingly denied

Confronted by armed gangs with pepper spray

Protection of the innocent is publicly decried

Whilst memories of the swastika emerge today

Your race colour and your creed openly abused

The white man’s bible now carries a new story

Where violence towards fellow citizens is excused

All because a false deity is seeking glory

You’d better get down on your knees and pray

That the man holding the barrel to your head

Might find a moment of mercy and Satan betray

Revoking the leader’s hatred and removing dread

For when fellow citizens are seen as the prey

Predators rewarded by those elected to care

Then the devil’s work is displayed in full play

So join the march Don’t just stand and stare

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2026

The Camp

The Camp (how it begins)

The pretence was easy by spinning out the lies

With gullible supporters there was no need for disguise

At first the occupants were labelled as criminals

To convince the audience he called them animals

Nobody seemed to care about the nightly raids

People vanishing in the dark as freedom fades

Soon all the camps were full and overflowing

Whilst the leaders led the masses in their crowing

Why were they being held and not deported

The original message slowly becomes distorted

Rounded up by a bunch of Nazi wannabees

There is a free labour force available of detainees

Cheap labour can be provided for large companies

A small fee being paid to the government as licensees

Other nations then complain of unfair competition

But nobody suggests that there should be prohibition

Then such camps could be set up by every nation

Soon they become the asylum seeker’s destination

A form of modern slavery viewed as a necessity

Everyone agreeing this is for economic prosperity

The gulags of dictators are becoming sanitised

Only a few years ago this would have been fantasized

Today’s nightmare is birthed from yesterday’s dream

You can sit with a six pack and watch but I’ll still scream

Copyright: David Hopcroft July 2025

Fate

Fate

In swamp and forest where demons dwell

Among trees and rushes where the spirits fly

Where nymphs beneath dark waters freely swim

A land where villagers believe even the air is cursed

In such a far-off land there is a tale to tell

Cold enough to freeze a tear in the watering eye

Upon the blackness of the earth was the legend made

Amongst the very trees along the path I now traverse

Ghosts called out to me as they floated on a breeze

Enticement along the path I wished to tread

Witches peered out from behind standing stones

The sorcerer at work sent lightning to the sky

I heard the whispers of a wizard among the trees

Past the ancient murder-stone where sacrifice was bled

Past the great cairn that held the maiden’s bones

On the road to a palace where the undead lie

Trapped between two worlds I seek release

Beyond the dragon’s breath I pass the moated gate

Where the bloodied axe awaits those condemned to hell

To the seat of the sorceress who cast the spell of doom

A pond of giant lilies was home to the sabred geese

Whose beaks like blades sent the undead to a fate

Who would dare to join me on this path

In seeking for desires beyond the great unknown

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2025

The Elements

The Elements

Out of the darkness and chaos had come order

From the swirling dust clouds of the heavens

From the violence of supernova remains

All seemed to make sense on a blue sphere

That swung round in an orbit safe from a sun

That also drove a pattern of life that evolved

Now the sky is fog-darkened above a glow

Where the blazing earth is slowly destroyed

Chaos has returned nature is bleeding in death

Ashes now swirl in heavens high above

Embers wreaking havoc wherever they land

Descending to end a life upon charred soil

We flee the devil we created for ourselves

Winds thundering through canyons unchecked

Driving all before a great wall of flames

Constellations no longer seen in night skies

Though the sound of terror still remains

In an inferno created by humankind

Do you believe this to be seeded by a deity

That the fire is but a ritual of punishment

Or has this force been ignited by ourselves

Water where art thou in this need

The rage of tempest brings only flames

The patterns of a thousand years stained

Humans in ignorance declared themselves gods

Their filth and greed had become the divine

Now nature declares you will not rule

There is no great image above the clouds

Ready to offer you a life in some paradise

There are only flames coming to claim

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2025

The Sanity of Crazy

The Sanity of Crazy

Purple patches in the pond at midnight

Echoing voices from beyond taunting me

Green clouds in the sky scudding past a rainbow sun

As we fly between the stars holding hands

Dreaming of the villain who takes the heroine

Smoking orange weed into the night

Riding the bicycle on the river made for two

Singing tomorrow’s song that I love you

Reading between the pages of the unpublished book

Following all the mysteries that can’t be solved

Flying over fields in the cloak of insecurity

Hoping for a wishing star other cannot see

Fat flies eating up the ointment revealing truth

Wilting flowers on the pavement newly cast aside

A policeman on a bicycle belting out ‘Rawhide’

Little fish with red hats swim against the tide

The Speaker on the floor with a Rastafarian hat

I’m with my love so I don’t care about that

She’s been brewing magic mushrooms on the stove

Making the best use of her botanical degree

I hear you tell your friend my brain is scrambled

But I think you can’t think clearly any more

See we still got our love and we don’t care

We left your crazy world and found our own

Where mystic memories of magic are grown

We found each other in the sky and we’re not alone

Escaping the madness of your world of destruction

Where you’re waiting patiently for an alien abduction

Burning up the planet and you don’t give a damn

Starving millions yet you think you know who I am

Boasting with pride it ain’t genocide

Dropping bombs and watching as children died

Sitting on you ass you should be down on your knees

Asking for forgiveness but you have no shame

Yet you are the crazy one who is calling us insane

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2025

The Stairway Of The Great Hall

The Stairway of The Great Hall

She waited patiently in her room for her lady

At last the message came that her entrance could be made

Dressed in her jewelled flowing gown she stood

Looking down the steps into the Great Hall

Where the tapestries hung from the walls

Knights on horseback from a battle scene

Recalling days from medieval times and crusades

A lady in her tent perhaps a queen

The lion and the unicorn at her sides

A fireplace where the logs were ablaze

The family crest above the mantle-piece

Deer heads staring down from the gallery

Where minstrels once would have played

Now a string quartet were waiting for their signal

Great chandeliers hung from ceiling beams

Candles flickering in the evening breeze

Where curtained windows revealed

Frames that had slowly shrunk over the years

A polished floor awaited her first steps

The Yuletide Ball to welcome the Snow Queen

She cast a glance to each side

Looking for the one she desired

They had played as children in the grounds

Her eyes now searched for the blonde hair

Then by the bay window she saw him there

With heart fluttering she descended the stair

Copyright: David Hopcroft December 2024

The Soap Opera of War

The Soap Opera of War

The image had been formed over a hundred years ago

A Wild West of guns and bullets with lead flying everywhere

Just how much was true I’m not sure we’ll ever know

The movies glamourised the scene now we don’t care

Then a couple of World Wars added more material

Cameras were rolling as war planes filled the skies

Appealing to a part of the brain that is vestigial

An area that gets excited each time someone dies

Great movies were made but then came television

A chance to bring the deadly screen into your home

The horrors of reality subjected to inhibition

Now the slaughter is available on your mobile phone

Eventually the brain was numbed and people wanted more

The days of make-believe gave way to reality

The people were tired of shows they needed a real war

Their thirst met by the leaders who craved depravity

Businesses were booming with sales of missiles and tanks

There is nothing like a war to boost the economy

In mansions on private islands rich men give thanks

Whilst leaders incite hatred in every young wanna be

Actors and actresses no longer dominate the screen

Now flak-jacketed tin-hat reporters are the stars

Competing for ratings with the terrifying gruesome scene

And all that we are left with are the corpses and the scars

Copyright: David Hopcroft October 2024

On the edge: Are you insane?

On the edge: Are you insane

This land is ours they cried

As they came with fire in the night

To burn the village to the ground

It’s ours the fleeing families said

Leaving the elderly

Already shot dead

By snipers as an army watched

Then reported they could see nothing amiss

Get off our land they cried

Sending their rockets in the air

Aimed at the homes

Of those they deemed responsible

For the bombing of their children

As if the killing of others

Would bring back their own

And all would then be well

Aim for the hospitals came the cry

Aim for the schools

Aim for the mosques

Aim for the churches

Destroy their homes

Burn them to the ground

‘Love Thy Neighbour?’

‘Hell no. Let them die’

Cheering from the sidelines

Were those who supplied the bombs

Why can’t you just live side by side

I asked as I tried to intervene

But my efforts were in vain

Back came the shrieking from one and all

“Side by side” they screamed

“Are you insane?”

Copyright: David Hopcroft October 2024

If we are frightened to protest then what hope is there for humanity?

Who buries the corpses

Who buries the corpses?

There was little warning before the missiles came

Raining down upon the street where children played

Each side adamant that the other was to blame

The buildings collapsed upon those who prayed

Upon the dusty street the limbs were strewn

Left as those still alive sought shelter in desperation

Amongst the rubble on a dusty afternoon

A pack of stray dogs feed upon a lost generation

The jeep prowled the avenues in the town

Rifles at the ready the riders opened fire

Women with their young ones swiftly mown down

Medals for those submitting to a leader’s desire

Who dares to step into the road to retrieve

Becomes the prey of the predator in uniform

In a ruined church a priest begs those to believe

Defending some ancient deity with cruciform

The victor celebrates by denial of water and bread

Flesh still clings to the bones of the starving child

The general declares the world now free of dread

With a hand upon the book he has defiled

I watch the horrors unfold upon the screen

I listen to the evil of those who claim a right of deity

And ask myself about all that I have seen

How can we say this is in the name of humanity

Copyright: David Hopcroft October 2024