THE CLAIMANT


'Hundreds of penniless benefit claimants who qualify for a short-term financial loan to tide them over until their first payment arrives are being told by jobcentre officials to ask for food parcels at local council welfare offices.' The Guardian 21/04/2013


The man behind the desk said to me,
“We cannot help,
outside official regulations you see.”

I looked across the desk and made it clear
“I think you’ll find you can, it’s under section 3.”

He shuffles papers with poison in his eyes
Then with a paper smile
“Of course I was about to say…,” he lies.

This is the land you learn to live in
When you cross the border into sin
Each day the malign bureaucrat
The official with a grudge or target
You are now the enemy within.
 
 
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