Donations are essential to keep Write Out Loud going    

Marbles

Napoleon wanted to buy them
And if it wasn’t for Elgin’s divorce
The Government might not have acquired them
At half the price, of course.
He told them that he had a firman
Although its veracity’s in doubt,
He said I’m telling you that the Sultan
Said I could take all the marbles out.
He was going to keep them in private
If it wasn’t for his divorce
Byron thought he was a pirate
And the collection he did not endorse.
Elgin, known to his chums as Tom
The Government said quite legally
Robbed the marbles from the Parthenon
And they took them off his hands most eagerly.
(Though if it wasn’t for his divorce
They might not have had such recourse).
They put them in the British Museum
Which is where they still remain
And is where you’ve got to go to see ‘em
Although if you were to get the train
From Manchester, for example
It would be cheaper to get the plane
To Athens to see the marbles
No wonder the Greeks complain
That Elgin robbed the Parthenon
And Rishi won’t give them back
‘Cause he’s seen the headline with his name on
Rishi’s lost his marbles, let’s bring Boris back.
Yeah, Elgin robbed the marbles
And if it wasn’t for his divorce
Some of Ancient Greece’s marvels
Wouldn't still be outsourced.

🌷(8)

◄ Josef

The First Day of Boris Johnson's Evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry ►

Comments

Profile image

Stephen Gospage

Fri 1st Dec 2023 20:11

Keep 'em coming, Steve!

Profile image

keith jeffries

Fri 1st Dec 2023 13:44

Steve,
An excellent narrative which has my full support. To suffice; if it does not belong to you then give to the legitimate owner. The colonial era is over, thank God.
Keith

Profile image

Steve White

Fri 1st Dec 2023 11:37

Two world wars and one world cup
Looty, Queen Vic’s Chinese pup
The Parthenon Marbles, Rosetta Stone
The ring that Tipu Sultan owned
The Benin Bronzes, here to view
And we’ve got Tipu’s tiger too
Maori heads, the Koh-I-Noor
The Maqdala manuscripts and more

Stuff looted by the Nazis
During World War Two
The seeds of Hevea brasiliensis
And Lander’s Yoruba stool
The Admonition of The Instructress
To the Court Ladies scroll
A tribal warrior’s shield
Said to contain his soul
Moai taken from Rapa Nui
Paintings from the Tang Dynasty
The wine cup of Shah Jahan
A statue of a Luohan
Which is tri-coloured and glazed
Taken from a Yizhou cave

The collection also contains
A variety of human remains
Which probably should be given back
Under the Human Tissues Act
But he’s giving nothing up
Two world wars and one world cup

Profile image

M.C. Newberry

Fri 1st Dec 2023 11:20

What empires didn't? But the consolation is that they are
preserved.

Profile image

Steve White

Thu 30th Nov 2023 18:53

There is, of course, the thought, M.C., that those of a certain colonial mindset felt themselves so superior to people from other countries and of other cultures that they felt justified in stealing from them. We have thousands of examples in the British Museum, here in the UK.

Profile image

M.C. Newberry

Thu 30th Nov 2023 18:23

There is, of course, the thought that like the wildlife in certain
parts of the world, ir sometimes takes a "detached view" to see
the dangers of loss and ruin before it's too late - and seek to
preserve what is at risk. Life has a strange sort of "swings and
roundabout" style about it, with stuff lost before it's understood
how important it is in the wider scheme of things. We have our
own examples here in the UK.

Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Thu 30th Nov 2023 15:45

Excellently put Steve.
The UK is now in such dire straits that those responsible are desperately clutching at whatever "culture straws" they can to distract from their abject failures...and it's going to get much worse in the next few months!

Profile image

Steve White

Wed 29th Nov 2023 09:55

Thanks Keith!

Profile image

keith jeffries

Wed 29th Nov 2023 09:37

Steve, I enjoyed every word of this poem. It is full of humour, sarcasm and the truth. One comment I would like to make. I don't think Rishy had any marbles in the first place.
A good piece of creative writing.
Thanks for this,
Keith

If you wish to post a comment you must login.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Find out more Hide this message