Followers

Sunday 5 February 2012

Mr. MATERIALIST

This poem was composed in response to an incident I witnessed in the street. It left me seething!


He's instantly recognisable
by his haughty facial expression,
smart Savile Row suit
and impeccably manicured nails.


A postman passes by, pushing
heavily laden bicycle.
'Good morning!' he cheerily
greets Mr. Materialist.
The latter gazes down
his long aristocratic nose,
as adept eyes assess this man.
And I'm momentarily aware of his thoughts.
Lower order specimen.
Working class - not
worth acknowledgement.
An inferior being
to be avoided at all costs,
in case his condition is contagious.
So he turns his head away
as though avoiding
an offensive odour;
and hurries on down the street,
gripping briefcase handle so tightly
that his knuckles turn white.
Non-academic underachiever.
A waste of human flesh - bound
to be a closet thief.
Status: below that
of my dogs...


Mustn't it be an awful
place to live,
inside that mind, where
personal aggrandisement and ostentation
have taken precedence over simple
common decency;
where there is such lack of regard
for anyone who needs to work hard
in order to keep body and Soul together?
It undoubtedly requires a high IQ
to make it to the position
of managing director,
but his must be
an extremely narrow form
of intelligence, for
he seems incapable of understanding
the fundamental fact
that the holding of an
important position
in a multinational company
does NOT transform a person
into a God;
neither does it give him the divine right
to judge others.
As human beings,
are we not ALL of equal value,
and therefore interdependent upon each other?

Yes,
that includes you, Mr. Materialist!
You NEED the working classes
in order to maintain
your luxurious elevated lifestyle.
Who else would
deliver your mail,
empty your bins,
clean your house,
chauffeur you to and from the airport,
and wipe your backside because
you are too bone idle to do anything for yourself?
Certainly not your ego-inflated
pretentious cronies!

So, I believe it is high time
you learned to respect those
who carry you through life.
Without your workforce
you would have no company to direct!
That thought horrifies you, doesn't it?
Having no one to lord it over
would seriously challenge
your delusion of self-importance.

If you happen to be
reading this, Mr. M.,
try not to take it too personally
or to heart (if you have one).
I do not despise you.
I just feel pity for you,
because doesn't it state
somewhere in your Bible
that 'The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth'?
Unless you rapidly undergo
a humility transplant,
I dread to imagine
what your final inheritance will be!

11 comments:

  1. Hear hear....now that's the wrath of a woman I wonderfully wish for in my yearnings for social justice. Mr Materialism better watch out !! He's a legend in his own small mind !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi William,
      Have to agree with you there. I am certain that is the only place he will ever truly be a legend!
      I'm usually a live-and-let-live person, but bigoted and judgemental people seriously annoy me:[

      Delete
  2. Hey Ygraine,
    What a schmuck! He should be mindful of his manner as these days many a Mr materialism is applying for the vacancies normally filled by the so called working class. that is why the so called working class in now unemployed in such great numbers! How shameful! Well done you have once again bot my blood boiling :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rose,
      That is so hypocritical isn't it? They take up the very positions that they had previously denounced others for holding.
      It seems that when the chips are down, the 'standards' slip even lower haha!

      Delete
  3. Well written indeed. Down here in OZ we just love to bring people like that back down to earth with a thud who think they are godlike, who think their poo doesn't stink or have tall poppy syndrome, i reckon Mr. Materialism fits all three and needs a reality check :-).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Windsmoke,
      In that case, I will be sending a few thousand of them to you on the next plane!!!
      Seriously though, people like that make my blood boil.
      How anyone could be that shallow is beyond me.:/

      Delete
  4. I could certainly feel the fire in this one :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anon,
      Yes, there was quite a bit of fire raging here, and writing it down was the only way of safely extinguishing it!!

      Delete
  5. Wonderful poem! I know him. I know his wife, too. I was supervising some slow learning children at the local swimming pool. The previous session belonged to a small local (considered very posh) primary school. When we arrived a teacher called her class to get out (in a most urgent voice) "before you catch any handicap germs!" Can you believe that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Dave,
      And thank you.
      That is appalling!
      What kind of message is that giving out to young children?
      It's no wonder there are so many 'Mr. Materialists' in the World today!

      Delete
  6. Hi again.
    Yes, exactly the point. But I can't tell you what our children thought of her and her school - not in their language, I can't!

    ReplyDelete

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I really appreciate hearing your opinions...:)