by Jerome Betts

(With apologies to Sir John Betjeman)

“ . . . Eton College. This institution sits
at the heart of the Brexit mess and the
dismal political failings that led to it.”
—John Harris in The Guardian

Come, legislators, fall on Eton!
Bared buttocks now may pass unbeaten
But still you put a rich elite on
The path to power.

One day, damned relic by the river,
Old unrepentant privilege-giver,
We’ll hear the timbers crack and shiver,
Your final hour.

You’re loved by no-deal Brexit-brinkers,
Ex-mayors, mendacious pen-and-inkers,
Rees-Moggs, and rolling-in-it stinkers
With funds off-shore.

So, drop your fees, they’re quite offensive,
Sell off your fields (far too extensive),
Rename yourself Slough Comprehensive
Or face the law!