POEM - Folk Married Punk and a Child Was Born

I owe more than a little bit

Of my rebellious commitment

To Billy Bragg

And whoever introduced me

To the Barking Bard

And I bought it

Every last clanging note

From the roots of urban folk

The outcast offspring

Of a raucous union

When folk idealism

Met with an electric guitar

It was just the right mix

For the kid who grew up

On Peter, Paul and Mary

And then dove in

With both feet

When my ears latched onto

The first angst filled chords

Of a punk rock song

So direct and unrelenting

That to call it only a song

Was to deny the power therein

Each tune

A declaration of war 

Against authority

And the establishment

And society

And life in general

And whatever else you got

And where punk was angry and loud

Screaming and incoherent

Upset and destructive

Bill Bragg was more than that

All of it was there

But turned down and focused

Like the ADD of punk

Grew up and learned to concentrate

Got an education

But never forgot why

Why they were angry

What they were mad at

Stopped screaming

And started doing

Dug in against oppression

In a world turned upside down