Somewhat after Binsey Poplars by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)

BLACKWEIR PASTURES
Desecrated 2025

These meadows dear, whose airy spaces calmed,
Calmed and soothed with peace the urban blight,
All harmed, harmed are all harmed.
Woodpeckers, kingfishers, herons and owls
Have fled in fright
From roosts embalmed
By hackneyed, horrid howls
Of puerile mainstream pap; dumb, conformist, contemptuous growls.

Green fields that belong to us all,
Barred behind a wall
And precious trees swept away.
The jewel in Cardiff’s crown
Vandalised, debauched, brought down
So fat-cats can milk a cash-cow –
Tickets one hundred quid a throw:
Rob, pillage, make nature pay.

The criminals in charge
Are corporate whores,
Trashing the past and selling off tomorrow,
Heedless of the pain they cause.
Rude, barbarian boors
Spread, not “fun” but sorrow,
Despair, hurt and deep sorrow,
Heartbreaking, endless sorrow.