The Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, has written a modern and gritty version of 12 Days of Christmas.
The poem mentions the War in Afghanistas, the MPs' expenses scandal, Global Warming, US President Barack Obama, England manager Fabio Capello and BNP leader Nick Griffin.
The 12 verse poem was written for the radio times.
Poet Laureate's gritty 12 Days of Christmas: Soldiers risking death, the BNP's Nick Griffin and a buzzard instead of a partridge
By Daily Mail Reporter
06th December 2009
Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy tackles a host of contemporary themes from global warming to the war in Afghanistan and MPs expenses in an ode to the festive season.
Her interpretation of the traditional 12 Days of Christmas song begins with a homesick soldier receiving a card from his true love and ends by asking if politicians will 'twiddle their thumbs' at the Copenhagen climate change summit.
Enlarge
Hard hitting: Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's 12 Days of Christmas takes on some gritty topics
The 12 verses were commissioned for the Christmas edition of the Radio Times and provide biting commentary on the state of British politics and society.
Duffy, 53, pours scorn on bankers for 'profits fired in greed' and MPs for 'milking' the system to mend a 'moat'.
The poem appears in the Christmas edition of the Radio Times
A buzzard replaces the partridge in the poem's opening line, calling the image of Britain's military thousands of miles from their families for Christmas, potentially facing death in the desert.
'In Afghanistan, no partridge, pear tree; but my true love sent to me a card from home.'
There are also poignant references to flood-hit communities in Cumbria and the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.
U.S. President Barack Obama, actress Joanna Lumley, England football manager Fabio Capello and BNP leader Nick Griffin also get a mention.
Duffy concludes by writing: 'Did they hear the drums in Copenhagen, banging their warning?
'On the twelfth day in Copenhagen was global warming stopped in its tracks by Brown and Barack and Hu Jintao, by Meles Zenawi and Al Sabban, by Yvo de Boer and Hedegaard?
'Did they strike a match or strike a bargain, the politicos in Copenhagen?
'Did they twiddle their thumbs? Or hear the drums and hear the drums and hear the drums?'
Carol Ann Duffy's 12 Days of Christmas (first stanza):
dailymail.co.uk
The poem mentions the War in Afghanistas, the MPs' expenses scandal, Global Warming, US President Barack Obama, England manager Fabio Capello and BNP leader Nick Griffin.
The 12 verse poem was written for the radio times.
Poet Laureate's gritty 12 Days of Christmas: Soldiers risking death, the BNP's Nick Griffin and a buzzard instead of a partridge
By Daily Mail Reporter
06th December 2009
Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy tackles a host of contemporary themes from global warming to the war in Afghanistan and MPs expenses in an ode to the festive season.
Her interpretation of the traditional 12 Days of Christmas song begins with a homesick soldier receiving a card from his true love and ends by asking if politicians will 'twiddle their thumbs' at the Copenhagen climate change summit.
Enlarge
Hard hitting: Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's 12 Days of Christmas takes on some gritty topicsThe 12 verses were commissioned for the Christmas edition of the Radio Times and provide biting commentary on the state of British politics and society.
Duffy, 53, pours scorn on bankers for 'profits fired in greed' and MPs for 'milking' the system to mend a 'moat'.
The poem appears in the Christmas edition of the Radio Times
A buzzard replaces the partridge in the poem's opening line, calling the image of Britain's military thousands of miles from their families for Christmas, potentially facing death in the desert.
'In Afghanistan, no partridge, pear tree; but my true love sent to me a card from home.'
There are also poignant references to flood-hit communities in Cumbria and the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.
U.S. President Barack Obama, actress Joanna Lumley, England football manager Fabio Capello and BNP leader Nick Griffin also get a mention.
Duffy concludes by writing: 'Did they hear the drums in Copenhagen, banging their warning?
'On the twelfth day in Copenhagen was global warming stopped in its tracks by Brown and Barack and Hu Jintao, by Meles Zenawi and Al Sabban, by Yvo de Boer and Hedegaard?
'Did they strike a match or strike a bargain, the politicos in Copenhagen?
'Did they twiddle their thumbs? Or hear the drums and hear the drums and hear the drums?'
Carol Ann Duffy's 12 Days of Christmas (first stanza):
On the first day of Christmas,
a buzzard on a branch.
In Afghanistan,
no partridge, pear tree;
but my true love sent to me
a card from home.
a buzzard on a branch.
In Afghanistan,
no partridge, pear tree;
but my true love sent to me
a card from home.
I sat alone,
crouched in yellow dust,
and traced the grins of my kids
with my thumb.
Somewhere down the line,
for another father, husband,
brother, son, a bullet
with his name on.
crouched in yellow dust,
and traced the grins of my kids
with my thumb.
Somewhere down the line,
for another father, husband,
brother, son, a bullet
with his name on.
dailymail.co.uk