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The ads for things are everywhere: 

“Good on ya Mum!” for ‘Tip-Top’ bread 

The ad tells you the kids say “Yeah!”,  

But it is shitting in your head. 

 

Some cars are better than the rest; 

So when you buy a Jeep, of course, 

You know that you have bought the best: 

It’s likened to a well-hung horse. 

 

And when we dress, we must dress well: 

At home, at work, or in a bar. 

The brands we wear all sound a bell 

That tells our brethren who we are. 

 

And if you’re thirty and not wed,  

You’ll notice a sulfurous smell, 

The world will fall in on your head,  

And you will plummet straight to hell. 

 

Once you are wed, you have to breed 

We must create new progeny; 

If, when you’re gone you’ve sown no seed,  

We’ll face a crashed economy.

When there is no baby-sitter, 

Your kids will beg for things they’ve seen 

If, burned out, you set your litter 

Before Big Brother’s T.V. screen. 

 

Bombastic hard-sell tactics grate, 

But turn it off, the ads won’t stop: 

Like a dog or loyal mate,  

Big Data watches while you shop. 

 

Big Malcolm Turnbull’s rhetoric 

And Shorten’s words ring not quite true: 

The one is back-room politics,  

The other workshopped by his crew. 

 

Big business donates money too 

To help the parties in their show; 

Election won, the games not through 

The donors want their quid pro quo. 

 

The mind-forged manacles within our heads 

Are corporations’ covert sneering joke. 

Politicians share their boardroom beds, 

And we all labour, oxen in the yoke.

Reviews

[Ari]

Bravo! I'd like to pick your brain sometime.

[Zugzwang]

Thanks for stopping by, Ari. Not sure quite how much grey matter there is to pick through 😊

[Gaia Octavia]

I like you rhyming!

I enjoyed this, especially the parts about sulfurous spinsters and TV litters. The only thing I noticed is that the first two stanzas could (but don't need to) be placed elsewhere, as the flow really starts in the 3rd stanza. It's just a personal choice though, I move my stanzas around a lot trying to tease out the flow.

Nice job. I always like your stuff, and I immensely enjoy your unique talent in writing free verse, but just for fun I'm gonna say, "rhyme more too!" 😃

[Zugzwang]

Yeah, rhyming's pretty cool, I've decided to do more of it. I personally like the way the initial stanzas build up to the 3rd, in the same way that seemingly innocuous ads and societal assumptions build to enslave us in what Blake called 'mind-forged manacles', as you are no doubt aware.
I'll keep writing if you keep reading!
z

[Gaia Octavia]

I totally did get that build-up and did get a sort of quiet, imediate tension about those who seem oblivious to what, for some, seems so obvious.
It's just my personal obsession w playing w structure, flow, and meaning through rearranging stanzas that gave me the thought 🤓🤓
I'm glad you are going to keep sprinkling some rhyming in there. I love words, so finding the right ones to develope a thought is fun for me. And if you get totally stuck, you can always use rhymezone.com for some suggestions 😁 I am trying out NOT rhyming a bit so I can maybe find my way to topics & themes other than the few I always seem to express.
It's a bit alien to me, but freeing in a way. Though my brain doesn't work like yours with the structuring and phrasing.
Not to be too cheesy but I'll always keep reading!✌

[Zugzwang]

Yeah, I've been known to use rhymezone from time to time. I seldom tinker with poems once they're done but really ought to do it I suppose. I'm going through 'The Ode Less Travelled' ny Stephen Fry, a beginner's guide to writing verse, and it has been great...it's helped a lot, thought I can't really see myself using many of the forms it contains.
it's great to see that you're expanding your horizons poetry-wise....I'm looking forward to reading more of your free verse stuff!

[Gaia Octavia]

I love Stephen Fry.

[Zugzwang]

He's a funny and erudite dude

[Gaia Octavia]

👍 agreed

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, we are all oxen in the yoke...they are supposed to work for us, but we seem to be working for them---they rule and we drool...
love the political statements in this and the clever use of rhyme (which i ordinarily am not that fond of)---
well done, Z...

[Zugzwang]

They rule and we drool...I love that one! No doubt from a song somewhere. I used to dislike rhyme too but it has its uses I think.