Bright Future, Hard Road… a poem

Here’s a poem called ‘The future is bright… the road is hard’. I’ve performed it at a ‘poetry slam’ but, no, I won’t be giving up my day job!

4 Responses to “Bright Future, Hard Road… a poem”


  1. 1 Arthur

    text please

  2. 2 Barry

    Well, if you want my love today,
    If you want my sorrow,
    Clouds may come,
    and clouds may stay,
    but we still live on
    tomorrow.

    Now, long ago when slaves obeyed
    their masters,
    it is true, yeah,
    They couldn’t see
    it didn’t have to be,
    but their masters taught them well,
    you see.

    But when the slaves rose up
    then they could see,
    that they could control
    their own destiny.
    No God or gods,
    just you and me,
    the people won their sovereignty.

    And now today
    we may think we’re free
    but we live and we work
    in wage slavery.
    Everybody tells me
    it just has to be,
    our masters still teach us well,
    you see.

    So, if you want my love today,
    if you want my sorrow.
    The future’s bright
    but the road is hard,
    but the future’s ours,
    together,
    Say the future’s ours,
    together, yeah.

  3. 3 tom

    Have just listened to your poem and watched the accompanying collage which I enjoyed immensely. Seeing these numerous faces looking at me as I was listening immediately got me connecting them with your words – good trick. All have stood up against reactionary orthodoxies often at great personal risk; some have accepted others without any apparent discomfort (Lincon and Hirst Ali spring to mind); I really like the existence of these differences or contradictions and how the collage and your words bounce off each other
    But more significantly, your post raises for me the question of what makes a good political or progressive or revolutionary or rebellious or whatever poem. While the first port of departure here is poetry that deals with social issues I certainly don’t intend to confine it to this – Dylan Thomas’ famous poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” written about his father when Thomas was anticipating his father’s death is a case in point. I like poetry and read quite a bit of it and am especially drawn to poetry that either has the intention or the effect of somehow exposing contradictions and suggesting (or maybe just hinting) at how these may be resolved. I’m sure Brecht wrote a poem that actually dealt with this but I can’t put my finger on it at the moment.
    Interestingly Kasama has had a recent (and furiously responded to) thread on revolutionary (or progressive etc) films. What we are talking about here – be it poetry or film – is art and what makes some art progressive etc and other art reactionary, conservative etc. I think this is more than just what we like and has alot to do with why we like it, where it takes us, what buttons it pushes, the questions or issues we are left with…
    Some conversations about this might be worthwhile.

  4. 4 tomb

    This has renewed my interest in revolutionary poetry, particularly like ‘schools imprison your brain’! Have really lost touch with contemporary rebellious/revolutionary songs and poetry but assumed they were being written and sung. Tell me it is so!

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