Best Pensions Poems
Come by the thousands
Hungry, desperate, each day
Greece's agony mounts!*
------------
Home lost, new home found
Distant shores opening arms
Tears flooding the seas
© Demetrios Trifiatis
17 August 2015
*Thousands of refugees and illegal immigrants enter Greece
each day in search of a better future. Greece, despite its economic
crisis and with an unemployment near 30% and salaries and pensions
down by 40% helps the best way it can. Europe watches as more than
two million of these unfortunate people live inside our country of ten million.
Categories:
pensions, humanity, immigration, war,
Form:
Haiku
Five Tomatoes Away
Five tomatoes away
from devastation.
The bullies bully me.
They give big breaks to
corporations-While taking
unfair shares from citizens
and cutting down on
pensions and "Social Security".
I have no security!
The Arabs store on
the corner is
selling wine, beer and
cigarettes.
Sending their tax free
money home to
fight against our boys.
His taxes are
deferred, and when
time comes to pay
The business is now
switched into his cousin’s name.
One tomato is two dollars...
so I am five tomatoes away,
and I haven't had a salad today. I
am being raped, while they
are getting breaks.
I get reprimanded
severely, they are always
Shaking my tree.
I said "I have no money"
I am not living here tax free.
The levy goes
into effect on the
thirtieth day, so
I budget sparingly,
and have had no
salad today;
I am five tomatoes
away, from homelessness
and devastation;
I wish I had a break like the big
corporations
One day before
I leave this planet I hope to
find dignity.
And eat a Salad everyday
and live life healthily
never again
having to worry
about being
Five Tomatoes away.
Getting old around
here is horrible;
My senior years
unpleasant....
I paid my dues to the
I.R.S., now they
want another present.
I hope to survive
another day, while
they tax my pension;
And so, I pray....
let me eat
another salad, in spite
of being ....
Five Tomatoes Away!
So yes, I've had no tomatoes,
I've had no tomatoes today.!
Categories:
pensions, planet,
Form:
Free verse
World abandonment
vanity infests
greed escalates
charity nullified
Competitive paradise
prices uncontrollable
hunger staggering
debt maximized
Honest lost
integrity futile
words misconstrued
greed rapid
Equality vanished
pensions minute
labor intensified
jobs down sized
World absorbed
humans consumed
profits soar
mortgages abandoned
World immobilized
composure lost
hope desperate
destruction eminent.
Categories:
pensions, on work and working
Form:
Free verse
"If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is." - Michael Douglas
I have a tragic tale to tell.
This story’s true, so listen well
so you won’t let the devil’s spawn
lure you with an evil con.
A lovely woman close to me
is on a path of misery
because her husband got deceived
by “short trades” very ill-conceived.
Online he met a female shark
who saw him as an easy mark.
A lot of money he amassed.
Millions even – it came fast.
I told the woman not to let
her spouse do things he would regret.
How could his wealth be so immense
in such short time? It made no sense.
Some things are too good to be true.
That was the most obvious clue.
There was so much that seemed amiss.
I told her, “Get him out of this.”
He got his parents to invest,
and then he did his very best
to find a friend with cash on hand -
a huge one-hundred sixty grand!
Oh my, and then the woman’s spouse
borrowed cash against their house.
Two hundred grand! He dipped into
their life insurance and pensions too.
Her spouse did things behind her back.
Why was he blind and so off track?
The old male friend who trusted him
lost so much money. Things are grim.
Their lot in life had not been bad.
But discontent her husband had
because he wanted more and more.
But look what life now has in store.
Their life is now a living hell.
I hope their house they still can sell.
This woman did not have to go along
and sign the second mortgage. That was wrong.
Undoubtedly her spouse is filled with shame.
His lovely wife now too shares some blame
for trusting in him when instead
she could have stopped the madness as it spread.
I’d told this lady, “Stop your husband, please.”
His lust for wealth is a disease.
His children’s futures he has hurt.
The scams online are piss and dirt.
This lovely lady’s now so stressed
because her spouse is so hard-pressed
to know exactly what to do.
Since all is lost, what will ensue?
Categories:
pensions, sad, sin,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
Waiting in line,
Before the ATM of closed banks for 60 Euros to withdraw under the scourging sun
Old and invalid people are submitted to this daily torture, constantly moaning, for Our country’s suffering and for our own devastation,
While twenty-seven percent the unemployment has climbed
Forty percent the salaries and pensions went down and twenty percent the taxes up
Rendering hundreds of thousands of families poor with no money to feed themselves And their children
When
Close to one hundred thousand of our countrymen have attempted suicide of whom Ten thousand, unfortunately, have succeeded in ending their lives only in five years Because of the ruinous austerity measures taken to pay Greece's lenders
Parthenon, is mourning Democracy's assassination in the place of its birth
By the mighty creditors that suck the blood out of our veins
The Greek government in agony has turn to our allies for help to restore our Economy and thus to prevent the catastrophe that is approaching,
But the creditors, most of them anyway, with Germany leading the way,
To obliterate Greece wish with their unbearable and inhuman terms they have set
As though were our enemies and not our partners, because
Humanity has been lost in their hearts and only for them the profit counts
And I, one of the suffering Greeks, that shares the same lot as any,
In anxiety, a few words try to arrange for the tragedy of Greece to illustrate as a New Euripides or Sophocles but to no avail,
So I am waiting in line under the scourging sun, hoping my turn to come,
The sixty Euros, if am lucky, to get into my hands before the AMT is empty!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
15 JULY 2015
Categories:
pensions, courage, grief, hope,
Form:
Free verse
He would have dissolved the congress party
Would have stopped at once all its festivity
Certainly would have gone on hunger strike
And, would have, launched a blistering attack.
He would have wholly banned the sacred khadi
That some time ago symbolized utmost sanctity
According to him it stood for human dignity
And no present day politician is found worthy.
He would have removed all sorts of reservations
And would have urged people to spurn such sops
Encouraged developing self respect minus props
To earn bread thro’ honest labor of sweat drops.
He promptly would have stopped all pensions
At the moment enjoyed by the freedom-fighters
Would have told them to return the allowances
As serving the motherland calls for great sacrifices.
He would have fought against all injustices
Would have put full stop to discriminations
Which divide the people and the human race
And create a schism in a fragile social order.
He would have banned entry of all the Mnc’s
And encouraged forcefully all rural industries
Making the village development a focal point
That aims for growth and banishes unemployment.
He would have stoutly advocated family planning
Convincing the public to practice non-indulgence
To help the nation prosper with self-reliance
And avoid facing consequences of dependence.
The state of affairs is so stomach-churning today
It is good that he attained martyrdom on that day
Were he alive to witness the present day nonsense
He might have sought the slayer pleading death.
Categories:
pensions, hero, inspiration,
Form:
Light Verse
The machine is king
Making money is god
Selfishness is the religion
The underdog is the new third estate
The backbone of society
Is the modern slave
As he gets only the minimum wage
Up we arise in the morning
And off to work we go
We might not be home
In time for dinner
As work is all we know
To the boss we will be productive eventually
To our family we are never there
We have become so numb
That we done even care
Wages are low
Our pensions are cut
Our hearts are filled with rage
We long not for the good old days
For they never existed in any age
What should we do?
Economic gains benefit the country they claim
Yet we wish the hard slog
Of the factory floor
Wasn’t such a right drain
When we rise up they complain
Productivity is lost they claim
Businesses want excessive profits
And managers global fame
No one cares about our desperate poverty
Downing tools does not help
We just bring home a lot less
We buy the basics with our pittance
And rage at what we will never get
Forever lambasted for inefficiency
We never get the chance to prove our might
No wonder the economy is in such blight
Is there no salary increase insight?
We are to the bosses
Robots clothed in skin
That must be pushed harder and harder
So his bonus can be bigger
We always comply
Despite getting none of the pie
One day our hard work will pay off
One day we will retire
Until then we will work hard
For no wage makes life dire
Categories:
pensions, business,
Form:
Rhyme
Coping With Hard Economic Times
By Elton Camp
Each new generation was richer than the one before
But it looks like that will never be the case anymore
It seems young families might as well expect to see
What economists now describe as the “new reality”
Their parents came to have a house and a nice car
It will be hard for most young folks to go that far
The jobs that are available have become very few
And of a type that only minimal wages are due
Benefits largely have become a thing of the past
As have pensions that an entire lifetime will last
Many jobs that were available to Americans before
Have now be “outsourced” to some foreign shore
Most manufacturing plants have now been closed
So China can dominate the market, unopposed
Even if people, more are quite willing to pay
Little is found that has been “Made in the USA”
Categories:
pensions, angst, jobs,
Form:
Rhyme
If We Don Need Um-Why Feed Um
We do not need to feed -
who we do not need
Every since they yelled
thar's gold in dem dar hills
dars oil in dat der groun
there's
diamons in dat der mine
there is salt in dat mine
ders water in dat well
dars feritle soil on
dem peoples lan.
Poor people have become
a means to an end
disposable-dispensable
unemployable
slavery is still a commodity.
Build new prisons -
keep them on reservations.
Bring in the cheaper workers
Bring in the desperado's
and they know how
to suffer in silence.
These others make to much noise
and these union boys.-unwieldy
They've had their day-
They've had there say.
There's GMO'S in
them dar fish N chickn's
tomatoes and corn..
Feed um fuel ,no more sugar cane-
Syrup from the corn or bust.
Eat that they mus !
They'll soon be insane,feed um dat;
And other poison food stuff.
We don need um -why feed um HUH?
Did I mention we can
now use their pensions..
( Song)
If you R happy
and you know it
then your
face will surly show it
if you R happy
and you know it ...say ?
Categories:
pensions, corruption, satire,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
They wage war on the poor
Selling their souls what for
But for gluttony and greed
Dissension is what they breed
Harmony and discord
A duality we can't afford
People die on the street
Chilled to the bone, no heat
No bread, no bed
So they commit suicide instead
And the system is so corrupt
A melting pot is ready to erupt
Boomers failed the youth
Doomers birthed who know the truth
16.07 is the living wage
But 7.25 has us locked in a cage
And we work hard to line their pockets
Yachts, mansions, pensions, and rockets
Racial tension is their weapon
So we don't collectively unify and step in
They say work hard and achieve American dreams
But the reality is not what it seems
Connections grant privilege to the rich like royalty
As they demand we stand for the flag and show loyalty
I'm tired of being a stepping stone and I'm not alone
And this is what we've been shown
Epstein didn't kill himself we know
Another death to protect those in power and another low
America grows darker by the hour
So in a moment of clarity
There is no peace and prosperity
This is a raw deal and we need a green new deal
Because I'm tired of being a spoke on the wheel
Illiteracy is on the rise and that's our demise
Because they can feed us their lies
They blame us and claim we have no ambition
But survival is the majority's mission
Stuck paycheck to paycheck until we're dead
And those who care get shot in the head
I beg you to put your hand on your chest
Against your beating heart are we doing our best
Laws against sleeping in the car, sleeping on the sidewalk
These don't fix the problem but we can't talk
Because they balk and say you should have done better
Anything to lick the boots of the debtor
But despite all of my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage
Soon to be a forgotten footnote, a faded page
And that wheel is going to keep turning
As American lives go up in flames we're burning
But that hatred is twisting deep inside
And revolution is what we need if I must confide
The system is built on a foundation of failure, it's broken
But our passion and fury has been awoken
For this is our watershed moment to stave off calamity
After discouraging decades of enmity
So if they must wage war on the poor
We'll wage war on a system we abhor
Categories:
pensions, how i feel, political,
Form:
Free verse
Its time to think out loud America Think about no meals on wheels for the elderly Think about cancer patients being cut lose to die Think about our children's education being turned into a Lottery Its time to think out loud America Think about going to one war after another Think about our leaders need for greed
Think about who pays and who plays Its time to think out loud America Think about who bails out the banks Think about who picks up the tax break for big oil Think about who makes up the short fall for the tax dodgers Its time to think out loud America Think about the majority rule and how the millionaires in Congress Changed the rules Think about the tax payers after they pay for the wars and the rebuilding projects Think about social security being cut back And disabled vets pensions being cut back And ask yourself If you've had enough! And if you have...... It's time think out loud
Categories:
pensions, education, introspection,
Form:
Blank verse
George is in his eighties and he’s seen it all before
He was born in the depression and was wounded in the war
He hadn’t been a hero, but George had done his bit
His legs had both been broken when a piece of shrapnel hit
George with his new ungainly gait really didn’t care
He had served his King and Country and was proud that he’d been there
Once the war was over and he got a steady job
George worked hard and did overtime to earn an extra bob
He was careful with his money but you couldn’t call him mean
He had known the pangs of hunger as a child when times were lean
He never wasted money in the bookies or on ale
He wanted some security in case his health should fail
Came the National Insurance Scheme in 1948
George gave the scheme his full support thinking it was great
If we all join in together and we pay our weekly dues
We should all get good pensions that can only be good news
What with all our contributions and the taxes that we pay
Well never in the future should we see a rainy day
No humiliating means tests, no more workhouse for the poor
The old can hold their heads up like they never could before
Now George is getting frail and weak and needs a little care
The pension that George thought he’d get simply isn’t there
The savings that old George accrued long ago had dwindled
The Council now want George’s house, no wonder George feels swindled
Every evening in the news on all the TV stations
The Government hand out our cash to lots of foreign nations
What’s more it is a well known fact that cannot be disputed
Folk come here and claim benefits who’ve never contributed
Our leaders throw our cash around with philanthropic zeal
Massaging their ego’s, Not caring how we feel
To men like George an honest man the real reward is owed
We should be taking care of him, not stealing his abode
Categories:
pensions, politicalold, money, old,
Form:
You worked so hard but just exist.
Your high school grad dates you just missed,
evacuated from Ukraine.
In Russia’s army to resist,
you fought the tyrant Hitler’s reign.
You worked so hard but just exist
on meager pensions. You subsist
by choosing food or meds, that’s plain.
No other kinfolks to assist
in taking care of you in midst
of tears and shakes of flashback strain,
you worked so hard but just exist!
Although you made your job’s A-list,
you now wear rags, your joints in pain,
no other kinfolks to assist.
Your teeth all gone, in life’s mean twist,
these lines remain your grim refrain:
You worked so hard but just exist,
no other kinfolks to assist.
To help elderly Holocaust survivors in the former Soviet Union, visit the website of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews at ifcj.org.
Categories:
pensions, discrimination, grandfather, grandmother, hate,
Form:
Villanelle
The people of government take their living,
From the majority of us who keep on giving.
They are paid very well to spew rhetoric,
As they argue in the commons and make us sick.
They take with their hands, grasping with greed,
To fill their pockets with unending need.
All that has reason, all that is right,
Is not to be gotten without a great fight.
They award a yearly pay increase of ten percent,
While people on pensions get one percent.
We all need to eat, we all feel the pain,
Of the high cost of living that goes against the grain.
Their right to free lunches is the right of a thief,
For our rights are nil which gives no relief.
Shall we buy gas for the car, pay rent or eat,
Or pay taxes or phone, is the list complete?
Government and big business are partners concealed,
But their perverse secrets are now being revealed.
While those in the prisons have every need met,
Having TVs, and phones and learning, they're set.
The things they are doing are a sad disgrace,
And we have to run to keep up with the pace.
The law that matters has been put out of the game,
For the law that matters is the commandments by name.
If these were in place, I'm sure it would be true,
That lawyers and politicians would be feeling so blue.
The unfairness in life we need to contemplate,
Before the winds of change keep their date.
When the game is all over and all the cards fold,
There will be many who need to get out of the cold.
For all will be changed, all shall be made right,
When the deeds of the greedy are brought to the light.
Categories:
pensions, politicalpeople, people,
Form:
Rhyme
It was a party of fleas who dropped some tea into the sea
Created a baby that left its mommy
Now there is an elephant and donkey in the room
So, lets asked who’s the bigger ***?
A spark, a flare, lighting a camel, an affair
Puff of smoke gone, what went wrong?
Bully the pulpit, who’s the culprit
Line drawn and divided by two
A state of iron bars but let’s call it a zoo
Divided into a system of them vs you
Don’t lose your autonomy
Though everyone is still just a monkey
Collectively a swarm of angry bee’s
The brilliants of hatred and judgment
The embellishment establishment pageant
Yesteryear's of days past are today's fears
Financiers, volunteers as November nears
Comparisons, divisions of wealth’s occupations
Frictions, contradictions, comedians
Who will be the next king of the jungle?
Both proclaiming to be the blissful angel
Tis the mating seasons bestial battle
Birdies tweets all about it on the their social
Scandal! Scoundrel! Oh, look there’s a squirrel
The eternal feral quarrel circle
The apex creatures are very territorial
For the king or queen, gerrymandering
The two-party system is the grand pyramid scheme
Bunch of ***holes looking up and bunch of **** looking down
Kiss up, gallop, gossip, stirrup, who will win the crown?
In this cage, enrage, what’s on the front page?
Who’s saying what about minimum wage?
Outrage about an issue? The cockatoos will throw a horseshoe
Here, eat this grass, here, pray at mass, or don’t
They will provide an antidote
Cheer, this one is such a deer, so sincere, so clear
Ok, the political evolution will find a way to prey on the economic roadway
Confusing rat race values, turn to the news and find out who will lose
Here, oats for the goats. No, the grass is greener over there
But be aware because there is a monster troll lair
Despair not of this nightmare, the election will swear to another road
The only condition for this prince is you must kiss this toad
Bam, the payload full of taxes and other critter’s pensions
Hurry up and cooked this eagle thanksgiving is awaiting
Tis the season for the hating, frustrating, debating,
Won, the elephants and donkeys parties are one hell of celebration
After-all in this zoo, the keepers and guests are laughing at you
Updated 5/14/2019
Categories:
pensions, america, political,
Form: