my country

What is wrong with me?

my country is not just a comic book lie

my country is a free country

in my country we

have established beyond challenge

the traditions and structures of democracy

no-one would dare put handcuffs on dogs

caught messing with fences

pigs attaching crazy signs to lampposts

are generally left to their own devices

not a word is ever said to foxes

doling out treacherous leaflets in batches

nor are ants denied the right

to carry ten times their body weight

pigeons too are lucky to live here

having plenty to eat and many addresses

train driving cats with tobacco stained whiskers

can do anything they like at the weekend

any bunch of confederate pests

can host an assembly of rats in a basement

crows amassed on overhead wires

may deem themselves a parliament

the mice in the hot press get friendly policemen

if hosting a rave or a champagne reception

best of all our friendly president, a seal,

talks to each without exception

and so I must practise being happy

as I circle the streets of our capital city

disguised as myself on a bike

for even our statues of virgins are allowed

to cry and bleed and move around

in any direction they like