I See A New Scene
Physiotherapist advice, neck to be fixed,
moving like an Egyptian backwards only
I See A New Scene for the Government
Service Opera; a line of civil servants in
front of computers - a bell rings and all
move their heads in Egyptian style
Wagner's Valkyries arrive on their flying
steeds singing ho-to-jo - and when civil
servants fall forward, dead in their chair,
a Valkyrie flies them to a special Govern-
mental Valhalla where they are treated
to an eternal Governmental Indaba
A Vision and Mission Statement event
at a dusty lodge, endless speeches fol-
lowed by team-building games; all acted
out with great gusto to warn civil servants
not to die in their chairs…
poem by Margaret Alice Second
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Related quotes
There is a human capital crisis in the federal government. Not only are we losing the decades of talent as civil servants retire, we are not doing enough to develop and nurture the next generation of public servants.
quote by Daniel Akaka
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Things That Thrill You
Nothing to read for escapism or dreams,
only Arthur Mee's Encyclopaedia printed
before World War II taken with me when
I went for coffee - printed in 1933 - joy in
Britain about Broadcasting House and the
BBC, commemorate listening to news of
the King's demise, marvelling at the new
technology, the main announcer being the
most loved voice in the British Isles
Told commiserating colleagues of my dire
lack of reading matter - An outrage - they
exclaimed, having to read that old book -
I described a new scene in my Government
opera where former official's souls are stuck
in an eternal Indaba held in the Government
Valhalla, all stoppering their ghostly ears with
ectoplasm as a long-winded Chief Director
delivers an interminable speech
This is a scene in hell! - they exclaimed and
ran away - My point exactly - I told their re-
treating backs; returned to my desk to read
my guru's advice - ‘Being happy is the cor-
nerstone of your being, choose things that
thrill you' - writing my Opera thrills me, but
anglicising French texts on how politicians
bankrupted a country in Africa does not,
they destroyed their own soul
Like a snake swallowing itself
poem by Margaret Alice Second
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Twisted Logic
Sunlight opened up my eyes
to see for the first time
it opened them up
And tonight rivers will run dry
and not for the first time
rivers will run
Hundreds of years in the future
there could be computers
looking for life on earth
Don't fight for the wrong side
say what you feel like
say how you feel
You'll go backwards
but then
you'll go forwards
again
You'll go backwards
but then
you'll go
Created... then drilled and invaded
If somebody made it
Someone will mess it up
And you are not wrong to
Ask who does this belong to
It belongs to one of us
You'll go backwards
but then
you'll go forwards
and then
you'll go backwards
again
you'll go forwards
You'll go backwards
but then
you'll go forwards
again
You'll go backwards
but then
you'll go forwards
Ahhhhhhhhhh...
song performed by by Coldplay
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Queen à la Marie Antoinette
Come, let us toast, today and evermore,
Madame La Pompadour - Queen à la
Marie Antoinette - of Civil Servants
When continuous absence without leave
was revealed Management refused to be
blamed and called her breach of Labour
Regulations a regrettable psychiatric event
managers prove they were innocent by
rewarding her innovative behaviour
Building her a new office so she can come
and go as she wants, accountable to no-one,
no manager thus in dereliction of duty
Let us toast the eternal reign of the Miracle-
Working Madame La Pompadour, Scourge
of all Government Departments
Teaching common, inferior civil servants the
meaning of her New Imperial Reign over
Labour Relations!
poem by Margaret Alice Second
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When the bell tolls
At times when I hear
a church bell that tolls,
I know that there
is more to life
than just living.
On a Sunday
the bell tolls almost endlessly,
(like a alarm clock)
before the service begins.
At times when I hear
a church bell that tolls,
it rings for a funeral
and I am glad
that I’m alive.
At a wedding
the bell sings a joyful song
and everyone smiles at each other
and wait for the bride to appear.
In the dead of night
the bell tolls lonely
no one cares about
the time that it keeps,
as sleep creeps deeper
into everybody’s soul.
poem by Gert Strydom
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The taxpayer -- that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.
quote by Ronald Reagan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.
quote by Ronald Reagan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Colonial governors and senior civil servants are not easy people to argue with, and I was not popular because of my criticism of the colonial service in Kenya.
quote by Louis Leakey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Bell Rings
The bell rings through its own shadow.
Death knoll. Death knoll.
Reverberates and simulates the grief of eternity.
Valentine's love song chimes unheard in the ears of the pained.
They walk in stuffy, dry lines behind the moving pyre.
Why are they afraid to cry? Tradition dictates
Happiness.
They are moving to
The next world.
But no one laughs and coincidentally
No one cries
As the slow snake of despair slithers silently to the side of the stream.
The bell rings through its own shadow.
Death knoll. Death knoll.
Reverberates and simulates the grief of eternity.
Once a partnership expressed in words, now in emotion.
On this day we have opposites. The smoke rises from the bank
And every man has his head bowed. Every woman out of purile
RESPECT veils their face with mourning.
There
is
a
chain which is now broken.
There was love, there was a song,
Sung by the air, now full of smoke and flames,
Surged by the winds, now carrying her ashes
Now there is sadness and death.
The bell rings through its own shadow.
Death knoll. Death knoll.
Reverberates and simulates the grief of eternity.
The lotus trees dip over the side of the river where we used
To meet. There are two spaces on the grass were we sat.
They are empty now. The petals float away, carrying your memories
As the smoke in the air.
The bell rings through its own shadow.
Death knoll. Death knoll.
Reverberates and simulates the grief of eternity.
poem by Alex Sigston
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Temporary teams of trusted people are generally sent to all Departments and to major agencies of government to assist in planning and to acquaint the incoming administration with the civil servants and bureaucracy that will remain in place in the new Administration.
quote by Richard V. Allen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Serani
When it is cold,
The school bell rings;
When it is hot,
The church bell rings;
But when it is warm then,
I am able to meet Serani my lover.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas
I'm walking backwards for Christmas,
Across the Irish Sea,
I'm walking backwards for Christmas,
It's the only thing for me.
I've tried walking sideways,
And walking to the front,
But people just look at me,
And say it's a publicity stunt.
I'm walking backwards for Christmas,
To prove that I love you.
An immigrant lad, loved an Irish colleen
From Dublin Galway Bay.
He longed for her arms,
But she spurned his charms,
And sailed o'er the foam away
She left the lad by himself, on his own
All alone, a-sorrowing
And sadly he dreamed, or at least that's the
way it seemed, buddy,
That an angel choir did sing -
An angel choir did sing.
I'm walking backwards for Christmas,
Across the Irish Sea.
I'm walking backwards for Christmas,
It's the finest thing for me.
And so I've tried walking sideways,
And walking to the front.
But people just laughed, and said,
'It's a publicity stunt'.
So I'm walking backwards for Christmas
To prove that I love you.
poem by Spike Milligan
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Ch 02 The Morals Of Dervishes Story 42
Listen to this story how in Baghdad
A flag and a curtain fell into dispute.
Travel stained, dusty and fatigued, the flag
Said to the curtain by way of reproach:
‘I and thou, we are both fellow servants,
Slaves of the sultan’s palace.
Not a moment had I rest from service
In season and out of season I travelled about.
Thou hast suffered neither toil nor siege,
Not from the desert, wind, nor dust and dirt.
My step in the march is more advancing.
Then why is thy honour exceeding mine?
Thou art upon moon-faced servants
Or jessamine scented slave girls.
I have fallen into prentice hands.
I travel with foot in fetters and head fluttering.’
The curtain said: ‘My head is on the threshold
Not like thine in the heavens.
Who carelessly lifts up his neck
Throws himself upon his neck.’
Civil Slaves
We are not civil servants
We are civil slaves
Servants work
and get paid
Slaves work
without being paid
like us
poem by Chanda Nsofu
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Waitin’ In Line
Have you ever had that feeling,
that you are wasting your time,
whenever you are waitin’ in line?
You see someone at the front,
always seem to get the best.
You seem to be last in line,
and only get what’s left.
Sometimes my friend,
the last in line do get the best.
The ones in front,
tries the goods and discard them easily.
While the one at the back keeps
hold of everything, they get.
While the one at the front,
so quickly forgets.
poem by David Harris
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What A Day That Was
Well, I'm dressed up so nice
An' I'm doin' my best
An' I'm startin' over..
I'm startin' over in another place
Lemme tell you a story
Big chief with a golden crown
He's got rings on his fingers
And then he walks up, up to the throne
He's makin' shapes with his hands
An' don't choo dare sit back
Now don't choo dare sit down
And don't choo dare speak up!
And on the first day, we had everything we could stand
Ooh who could've asked for more?
And on the second day, there was nothing else left to do
Ooh what a day that was.
There are 50,000 beggars
Roaming in the streets
They have lost all their possessions
They have nothing left to eat
Down come a bolt of lightning
Start an electrical storm
Starts a chain reaction
Go pull a fire alarm
I'm dreaming of a city
It was my own invention
I put the wheels in motion
A time for big decisions
And on the first day, we had everything we could stand
Ooh and then we let it fall
And on the second day, there was nothing else at all
Ooh what a day that was.
Oh a day that was
Ooh that's the way it goes
There's a million ways- to get things done
There's a million ways- to make things work out.
Well I'm going right through
And the light came down
Well they're roundin' 'em up
from all over town
They're movin' forward and backwards
They're movin' backwards and front
And they're enjoying themselves
Moving in ev'ry direction
And if you feel like you're in a whirlpool
You feel like going home
You feel like talking to someone
Who know the d
song performed by by Talking Heads
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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That was my way, and I also use the music after five years, I started hearing opera, opera, it was very good instrument to keep the spirit very strong because you feel like you are yourself singing opera, and I used to hear a lot of opera, they send me tapes.
quote by Mordechai Vanunu
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dinner Bell
Ive been leaving on my things
So in the morning when the morning bird sings
Theres still dinner on my dinner jacket
til the dinner bell rings
Experimental dog*
Salivating dog
Good dog
Waiting for the dinner bell to do the bell thing (waiting for the dinner bell)
Dinner bell dinner bell ring
Ive been leaving on my things
So in the morning when the morning bird sings
Theres still dinner on my dinner jacket
til the dinner bell rings
I dont want a pizza, I dont want a piece of (experimental dog)
Peanut brittle, I dont want a pear.
I dont want a bagel I dont want a bean I wouldnt like (salivating dog)
A bag of beef or a beer or a
Cup of chowder, corn, cake, or creamed cauliflower cause Im (good dog)
Waiting for the dinner bell to do the bell thing (waiting for the dinner bell)
Dinner bell dinner bell ring
Shoulder, bicep, elbow, arm
Forearm, thumb, wrist, knuckle, palm
Middle, pinky, index, ring
Dinner bell dinner bell ding
I dont know whether Id rather be having a bottle of vinegar (experimental dog)
I dont know whether Id rather be having an egg.
I dont know whether Id rather be having an order of bacon (salivating dog)
Or whether Id rather be having a basket of garlic bread.
I dont know whether Id rather be having some pie or (good dog)
Saving my appetite cause im
Waiting for the dinner bell to do the bell thing (waiting for the dinner bell)
Dinner bell dinner bell ring
Ive been leaving on my things (Ive been leaving on)
So in the morning when the morning bird sings (the morning)
Theres still dinner on my dinner jacket (on my)
til the dinner bell does the bell thing
Dinner bell dinner bell do the bell thing
Im waiting for the dinner bell to do the bell thing (waiting for the ding)
Dinner bell dinner bell ding ding ding
Waiting for the dinner bell to do the bell thing (waiting for the ding)
Dinner bell dinner bell ding ding ding
Waiting for the dinner bell to do the bell thing (waiting for the ding)
Dinner bell dinner bell ding
song performed by by They Might Be Giants
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Egyptian Army
Egyptian Army will
serve the Egyptian nation.
Mubarak is not now
leader of Egyptian nation.
Will the Egyptian Army
serve will of Egyptian people?
Dictatorship torture poverty
serves not Egyptian people.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Government ""help"" to business is just as disastrous as government persecution... the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off.