Ruby Lord

Jan 16, 2025 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Who pissed on who?

Hooligans and animals, headlines screamed.
Print and news screens echoed fabricated truths,
lies spun to shield the blame,
front page highlights, a web of deceit.

A taunt at the crowd, a weakness exploited,
systems broken, truth twisted,
false fingers point to scarves soaked in blood
mingled with lives lost on a muddy field.

To see fans, shivering,
wounded by more than the crush,
left in their silence and the mayhem of slurs.
Conspiracies slithered, snakes in the grass,
burying truth beneath the weight of power.

And still, each time another victim falls,
and every anniversary replays the fault.
Grant them the means to forgive themselves,
for letting them go,
for losing them to that game,
and the lies that followed.

Forgiveness is not in forgetting,
but in remembering their lives with respect.
To rise each day and carry their truth,
is to ensure they are never truly lost.

About This Poem

Last Few Words: This poem is about the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 and the shameful aftermath of lies, blame shifting, and media manipulation that followed. The title Who Pissed on Who? directly references one of the vilest fabrications published in The Sun, falsely accusing Liverpool fans of disgraceful behaviour amidst the chaos. It typifies the deceit spun by those in power to deflect accountability. This slur became a symbol of how far the authorities and media were willing to go to protect themselves at the expense of the truth, Hence the long awaited Hillsborough inquiry. The poem reflects the weight of grief carried by survivors and loved ones, not only for the lives lost but for the lies that followed. To rise each day and carry their truth is to ensure that they are never truly forgotten, no matter how much the powerful tried to bury them beneath the lies. The media never changes.

Review Request Direction: What did you think of my title?

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Editing - rough draft

About the Author

Country/Region: United Kingdom

Favorite Poets: Margaret Atwood is one of my favourite writers. Carol Ann Duffy, Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Wendy Cope and more.

This user supports Neopoet so it can be free to all

Comments

Geezer

6 months ago

It is...

disgusting, how the media tries to make every little thing seem like a disaster, an outrage or just plain miserable; just to get better ratings. Like both political parties, they use lies and innuendo to make things seem either illegal or morally corrupt, accusing each other and everyone, of the most outrageous conspiracies. You are spot on with your piece. Nicely done, ~ Geez.
.

Ruby Lord

6 months ago

Thanks Geezer. We have seen

Thanks Geezer. We have seen so many injustices here. Wind-rush, Post Office, Infected Blood, Brexit, Grenfell, to name just a few. And every time, it takes years for justice to be served. Our media is complicit mainly because it's all about clicks and politics. Ruby xxx :)

Lavender

6 months ago

Hello, Ruby,

I vaguely recall this, so I googled a bit. Horrifying. A deep respect and homage is felt in your final stanza.
Thank you.
L

Ruby Lord

6 months ago

Hi Lavender, thank you for

Hi Lavender, thank you for reading and commenting. It is a stain on UK political history, in particular the effects of a Tory government. Ruby xxx :)

Triskelion

6 months ago

A great example..

..of how determination and solidarity reveals the truth in corruption. When people take accountability for their misdeeds, the world is a better place.

Cheers Ruby!
Thomas

Ruby Lord

6 months ago

Thank you Thomas for reading

Thank you Thomas for reading and commenting. I'm not convinced those in power will ever willingly take responsibility for their actions. I remember watching this on TV and hearing the lies which at the time, we didn't know were lies. The people of Liverpool have since held The Sun newspaper to account and It is banned in the city.
If only all of us could stand together in solidarity. Ruby xxx :)

Ray Miller

6 months ago

Who pissed on who?

Nice title. There's still a lot of people who choose to believe The Sun's version of events. They are generally the same people who reckon climate change is a hoax, that all immigrants are criminals, that political correctness has gone too far blah-blah.

Ruby Lord

6 months ago

Thanks Ray for reading and

Thanks Ray for reading and commenting. It is those people who need to be convinced that their interests do not lie with the populist politicians who turned this country into their plaything. That exercise in fooling the public has caused untold division, hence as you say, immigrants, climate change and political correctness are turned into tools to strike us with.
Ruby xxx :)