Our lives, governed by twin parentheses
Which run side by side and drive us all mad,
Are attacked daily by propaganda.
Truth lies inconveniently hidden
Behind shaky Chinese walls, constructed
To ensure that people never find out
What, exactly, actually happened.
Technology, too sophisticated
To understand, bamboozles most of us
Into acceptance of daily hubris,
Pumped out continuously on platforms
Owned or controlled by power obsessives.
Our minds, twisted through pandemic and war,
Are moulded as putty by demagogues.

And now we cannot pay our heating bills….

Harry Rogers, In The Yellow Room, April 5th, 2022.