I wrote this poem not long after the social unrest last summer.

I PREDICT A RIOT

Social mobility immobilised,
hopes and dreams won't be realised.
Bound by boundaries the eye can't see,
loss of control, a predetermined destiny.
No voice, no movement,
no room for growth or improvement

I predict a riot

The consumer culture is all consuming it seeps through every pore,
infiltrating through the air telling people they need more.
You're a nobody without an iphone, that car, a pair of Adidas
so you remain a nobody if you haven't got the cash.
The capitalist culture,
bred and fed the rioting vulture

I predict a riot

Another miscarriage of justice makes opportunity knock elsewhere,
people have nothing left to live for so why should they care?
Live for the moment, seize the day,
grab yourself those trainers, free for just today.

I predict a riot

The establishment is broken, patched up with platitudes,
law breakers, scandal makers given no penalty but latitude.
Expenses scandal, hackers, corruption and greed,
casting judgement on others for similar deeds.

I predict a riot

Clegg said, if you want to protest come to parliament square, what for?
Millions have in the past and were not listened to before.
Placards read I'd rather Jack than bomb Iraq,
millions said no but they still attacked.
Students protested to stop education becoming a privilege instead of a right,
no one listened to them and they lost their fight.

I predict a riot

At the top they get away with it, they're all on cahoots,
with more sophisticated ways of getting their hands on your loot.
Whilst rioters get 6 months inside for nicking one trainer, not even a pair.
That'll teach em, yeah, that life isn't fair,
and that trainers are more sacred than public money.

I predict a riot