Carapace
Tough shield on a tortoise
Tough exterior on a gentle soul
Angela Rayner’s carapace
Tough talking ready for the verbals
If you’re batting be careful how she bowls
Never been loved or cared for
Growing up
Needy mother a very ‘shouty’ dad
Became the mother to her mother
Then mother to her own
On her own at 16
Kind of sad
But watch her in the Commons
Question Time
A working girl among the business class
The world of trickle down economy
Put to shame
By this northern working lass
She is fighting for the poor
Because she knows them
She is one of them
Never left the street
It’s herself she’s fighting for
The girl with nothing
We need to hear her voice
We need to meet
She showed her mettle
Standing at Dispatch Box
Wry smile – showed her humour too
After years of painful listening
To the posh boys
A northern lass is here
How do you do!
Brian Fahy
25 September 2021
Erris Poetry 