Latest Poems - October 2003

Privatising Love

On the grounds of greater efficiency,
Marriage Guidance counsellors
must now produce figures to
show that they represent value for money.
This means that Love
is not celebrated in terms of success
but is measured, financially,
by failure which can be quantified.
The aim, as always,
is to soften up the target
by “proving” that they are incompetent
in preparation for privatisation.

Once Marriage Guidance counsellors
have been humiliated and
shown the error of their ways -
that Love does not really matter
then the next stage kicks in,
the inevitable spin
that privatisation is more efficient
and the experts are brought in.
Private consultants will be consulted
and come to the conclusion
that Marriage Guidance
should be privatised.

It is at this point that
that the consultants advising
their private clients to provide the service
will recommend some cash
be handed out to the politicians.
So, the Privatisation of Love
Finance Initiative will promise that
targets will be met and, if they are not,
the goal posts will move,
because privatisation is most efficient
at making money for the fat cats,
but knows nothing about Love.