Jacqueline Saphra
We gather here in love and rage
to tell the story of our age,
to ring the bell, to write the page,
to raise the roof, rattle the cage,
expose the lies, call out the cheats
who foster, posture, pant and pitch
deadly denial, rank and rich,
and peddle death at Tufton Street
and peddle death at Tufton Street
Sound the alarm and ring the bell
of Exxon, BP, Chevron, Shell
who machinate in parallel
to send us down to climate hell.
They build their case, they take their seats
while trading shares in human lives.
They’re cheek to cheek with fifty-five,
the horror house of Tufton Street
the horror house of Tufton Street
They’re selling oil and climate porn
my friends; this is a perfect storm
designed to twist and misinform.
The soft skin of the earth is torn
her bones are melting in the heat
while devils trade in murky tanks
amassing billions in the bank
of oily gold from Tufton Street
of oily gold from Tufton Street
But when they face what they’ve ignored
which fool will fall upon their sword
and tell the chairman of the board
they’ve failed because their plan is flawed?
They’ll play denial on repeat
from boat to bunker they will bleat
this isn’t fair on the elite;
but if our human edifice should fall,
from city slum to penthouse suite
the fire and flood will take us all.
So say goodbye to Tufton Street,
goodbye, goodbye to Tufton Street.
Jacqueline Saphra is a poet, playwright, teacher and activist. She is the author of nine plays, five chapbooks and four poetry collections. Her second collection, All My Mad Mothers was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and her fifth, Velvel’s Violinwill be out from Nine Arches Press in July 2023. Jacqueline is a teacher and mentor for The Poetry School and a founder member of Poets for the Planet. https://www.jacquelinesaphra.com