POEM: The memorial of Peterloo

The memorial of Peterloo Our kids don'tknow politically some of Manchester's feats,It'sstrange that we don't tell 'em of the war fought on these streets,It's odd thatwe don't say... just how those people died,Fightingfor the freedom that voting would provide.
It's nottheir fault; I don't blame them, only a tiny plaque was cast,To honourthis momentous day, this secret from our past,It's likeMPs are still embarrassed or maybe they don't care,For thisdefining moment of an age, Manchester's Tiananmen Square.
Coz itreally was the moment, that they forced politically,To changepublic opinion and bring democracy,  Is itfading from our memory banks, this fight some never knew?Ourgreatest moment of reform; the battle of Peterloo.
It willsoon be two hundred years, since fifteen people died,On thesevery streets of Manchester; where the authorities had lied,Theyclaimed it was a tragedy and arrested those who said,That itwasn't quite an accident but a massacre instead.
The peoplecame in thousands to fight against their toils,Sixtythousand gathered close to Discotheque Royales, Just fouryears after Napoleon and the battle of Waterloo,Povertyhad bitten hard and northern life was cruel.
We didn'thave the vote back then and jobs were hard to find,The CornLaws were a barrier and daily life a grind,The richwere getting richer; the poor had nowt to show,And richmps in London town just didn't want to know.
Revolutionistsin Manchester, guys like Henry Hunt,They choseto fight for normal folk and do what mps wouldn't,Butmarches south just didn't work out; London didn't yield,So theykept the fight here in Manc, and marched to St Peter's field.
The banners shouted loud and proud, their message defiant,Vote By ballot, No Corn Laws, Annual Parliament!It was time to drag our politics from this darkest ofDark Age,Let usdie like men, the women said, and not be sold like slaves.
Reformleaders across the north, gathered there to say,Thatparliament in London couldn't have it their own way,The massescame to listen; the authorities weren't too keen,At whatremains today the biggest... UK meeting ever seen.
But asthey started speaking and the crowds began to cheer,The localMPs panicked and ordered soldiers near,To runinto the ordered crowd and swing their swords about,To arrestthe public speakers and pull the leaders out.
But thecrowd refused to buckle and tried to stand its ground,They triedto hold their banners high and form a shield around, Thespeakers they were gunning for, their voices must be heard,Butthrough the crowds with sabres drawn, they were savagely murdered.
The horsestrampled, crushing folk, who had nowhere to go,Whilstsoldiers swung their swords, butchering innocents below,Some werestabbed by bayonet or trampled underfoot,Some wereshot by muskets as the cavalry went nuts.
Womendied, and kids were hurt, no concessions made,Thecavalry just didn't care for the people they had slayed,Eventuallythe soldiers won and broke the human shield,Fifteen killed,six hundred hurt, a bloodied battle field.
Arrestswere made and sanctions sought, the speakers put in jail,Buteventually from that shameful day, the changes they did hail,For on thesite those people died they built the Free Trade Hall,Where theAnti-Corn Law league won out; a free economy for all.
Demonstrationshadn't worked but a newspaper was born,One tochallenge everything and politically pour scorn,Today it'scalled The Guardian; a paper for us all,A tributeto the folk that died; a Manc memorial.
Copyright©2011by Phil MartinAllrights reserved.
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