Today’s poem

THE BIG QUESTION

The Day thou gavest, Dave, is looming, In or Out, aye, there’s the rub, Should we stay, endure more edicts, Or leave, post haste, this noxious club? Greece, complete with begging bowl, Will be along quite soon, While other nations wait to join And claim their silver spoon. Our borders creak, become more porous, New immigrants are slipping through, The basic problem is free movement As set in stone by the EU. The numbers rising ever daily, Schools and doctors feel the strain, All these problems must be balanced, The ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of this campaign. The auditors still fume and puzzle, Each abacus set in frenzied mode, Striving yet to make sums balance, Each year a failure — well, I’m blowed! And so these massed doomsayers All claim we’re going to the dogs, They’re now predicting war and famine And, perhaps, a plague of frogs. As the day nears, heated comments Wing from each impassioned throat, In your hands lies this decision, It’s vital that you use your vote. John Hyde, Chellaston, Derbys.