2017: A Poem

We have come to the end

Of TWENTY SEVENTEEN

I can’t help but think

What a year it has been

So let’s reflect

On all that’s taken place

Over the past THREE HUNDRED

AND SIXTY-FIVE days

OK we’ll start off

With the elephant in the room

In the world of politics

It’s been all doom and gloom

The White House got itself

A brand-new resident

Obama was replaced

With a tiny-handed President

January was when

Trump’s tenure did begin

And no-one turned up

To see him sworn in

Since then he has lurched

From crisis to crisis

After a year he has still

Not managed to beat Isis

He tried to bring in

His ban on travel

But it didn’t take long

For those plans to unravel

He proposed to introduce

A military ban

On all of those people

Who just happen to be trans*

Gender doesn’t matter

When you’re on the front line

As long as you’re willing

To serve then that’s fine

When it comes to the wall

He said he would build

This is another promise

That remains unfulfilled

Meryl Streep is 20 times

Oscar nominated

But according to Donald

She’s just overrated

He said anyone who

“Disrespects the flag” should be fired

But look at the movement

That comment inspired

I actually thought

It was wonderful to see

All of the sportsmen

Who took to their knees

If we’re discussing Trump

We have to mention Twitter

It’s where he rants and raves

And is the most bitter

It’s where his criticism

Appears the most heavy

And where he makes fun

Of all the press covfefe

Not only that but

He thought it was okay

To retweet from a group

Who post nothing but hate

As for next year

Who knows what he’ll do

As allegations about Russia

Continue anew

Meanwhile here

Across the Atlantic

The UK has begun

The process of Brexit

When Article 50

Was triggered in March

It was time for our departure

From the EU to start

I’m a Remainer

But I accept we are leaving

But for what we’re losing

I won’t ever stop grieving

There has been so much talk

About free movement and trade

And it has taken forever

For decisions to be made

The European Union

Binds us all together

And I don’t quite believe

That outside it we are better

As sad as I am

That Brexit is underway

Something about it

Made me laugh the other day

It was recently announced

That our passports would change

Their colour will be different

Once we break away

Instead of burgundy

As the rest of the EU

We are changing to an

Old-fashioned shade of blue

Why is this funny

I hear you cry

Well just listen and look

And you’ll understand why

They will be British (not European)

Or so we are told

The background will be blue

And the writing will be gold

Gold on blue

As I think more and more

I think perhaps I’ve seen

This somewhere before…

Aside from politics

And all of its madness

For many this year

Has been full of sadness

I would like to ask you

To keep in your minds

Those who have been through

Those difficult times

Think of Barcelona

Where people were attacked

Mown down with a truck

Walking down Las Ramblas

Think of Las Vegas

Where country music was played

Until from above

Those concertgoers were slayed

Think of Manchester

Where Ariana sang

So many young lives

Were taken with a bang

Think of London

And what it’s been through

Westminster, London Bridge,

Finsbury Park too

This city has faced

So many attacks

Innocent lives destroyed

In senseless acts

On top of all of that

In our capital city

We all witnessed another

Horrific tragedy

I remember where

I was when I learned

That a tower block

In London had burned

This huge building

Burned during the night

Horrific images

That made us all cry

In all the disaster

Claimed SEVENTY-ONE

And the homes of over

200 others were gone

But in the aftermath

Of such terrible events

People and communities

Showed us their strength

They got together

Despite the tragedy

They unified

To show their solidarity

In these times where things

Are difficult and dark

When evil tries to tear

Our communities apart

It is best to show we will

Continue to be united

That we come together

And will not be divided

Now let’s talk about

Celebrity deaths

We all know last year

Was not exactly the best

Although this year

Wasn’t quite as bad as last

There are still a few famous faces

Who this year have passed

This year we lost

Sir Bruce Forsyth

It was nice to see him

To see him nice

Michael Bond brought joy

To many generations

With his famous bear

Named after Paddington station

This year we also

Lost another Bond

At EIGHTY-NINE

Sir Roger Moore passed on

We lost two pioneers

Of rock n roll

The greats Chuck Berry

And Fats Domino

Their passing seemed to mark

The end of an era

As did the death

Of Coronations Street’s Vera

The world mourned the loss

Of the great Adam West

Out of every single Batman

He will always be the best

Also gone now are

Chester from Linkin Park

And David Cassidy

Who used to break teenage hearts

Speaking of Heartbreakers

Tom Petty is gone

Also this year

Jerry Lewis passed on

Glen Campbell, singer of

Rhinestone Cowboy

And Hugh Hefner

Founder of Playboy

Keith Chegwin and

Blue Peter’s John Noakes

British TV said goodbye

To these legendary blokes

Speaking of legends

And as a Doctor Who fan

I will finish this section

By discussing one man

He may have been Doctor

For just a single adventure

But for that performance

I’ll never forget ya

John Hurt became one

Of our best-loved actors

And became a legend through

So many different characters

From Ollivander to the Doctor

Including Quentin Crisp

An incredible man

Who will be sorely missed

I’m going to discuss music

In this next section

And looking back on this year

There is quite a selection

Ed Sheeran came back

And dominated the charts

The album was Perfect

And went straight to our hearts

The redhead sensation

Blew us all away

Particularly with his song

About a girl from Galway

Speaking of comebacks

Welcome back Sam Smith

With a flawless new look

And even better music

I reckon Palace

Is my favourite track

We missed you so much Sam

It’s good to have you back

Remember One Direction

Well now they’re all solo

They’ve all had songs out

this year didn’t you know?

Whilst Niall was telling us about

Slow Hands and This Town

Liam’s first single

Was called Strip That Down

Louis Tomlinson said

Maybe I Miss You

Directioners feel the same

About the band too

But Harry Styles says

They should not cry

Because after all

It’s just a Sign of the Times

We sang Despacito

All summer long

Even though most of us

Got the words wrong

We listened to Symphony

By Zara and Clean Bandit

Chainsmokers and Coldplay

Wanted Something Just Like This

Rag n Bone Man

Released a song called Skin

But he’s only Human

Don’t put the blame on him

Yeah this year

Has been pretty good for music

Some tracks were brilliant

While others were just epic

In TV this year

Was pretty damn good

If you’ve not watched these shows

Then you probably should

Did you see

Stranger Things Season TWO

If you haven’t yet

Then I hope that you do

This science fiction drama

Set in a small town

Came back and turned

Our worlds upside down

This viral sensation

Really impressed me

And right now I can’t wait for

The release of Season THREE

Sense 8 was cancelled

After only Two Seasons

And yet they decided

To renew 13 Reasons

Both are great shows

With millions of fans

If one can keep going

Then the other one sure can

You could say that movies

Had a good year as well

So many fantastic

Stories to tell

Beauty and The Beast

Came back all rebooted

And Dunkirk was incredible

That can’t be disputed

We all saw the brand-new

Version of It

Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise

Scared us all to bits

If you were looking

For a masterpiece in dance

Then maybe you

Should see La La Land

It won six awards

At the Oscars this year

Except for Best Picture

Where it came so near

It almost won that

Award that night

But eventually that prize

Went to Moonlight

Moonlight is a great film

And it’s LGBT

It really is stunning

I’m sure you agree

And of course there is

Star Wars: Episode 8

Recently out but

The reviews have been great

The Last Jedi

Is the name of this movie

It’s one of those films

I am eager to see

This unbelievable year

Has reached its last day

And TWENTY EIGHTEEN

Is now on its way

As we say hello to January

And goodbye to December

I want you all

To reflect and remember

Your memories from this year

Be they good be they bad

If they made you happy

Or if they made you sad

That a new year is a chance

To start over again

A time to appreciate

Your family and friends

Tonight we move

Into the new year

Congratulations to everyone

For making it here

I will see you again

On January 1^st

Now I’ll leave you

With these two simple words

KEEP BELIEVING!