The packets were shining on the shelf,
Shining with all their might:
They did their very best to make
Their appearance smooth and bright-
And this was odd, because they were
An absolute and utter blight.
Big Tobacco and the Government
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
How much more they could still expand:
'If we could only grab them all, '
They said, 'it would be grand! '
'The time has come, ' Big Tobacco said,
'To talk of many things:
Of glamour, image and suavity
Not of hoodwinking and stings
And why addiction has such power-
And what money to us it'll bring.'
'O children, ' said the Government,
'You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again? '
But answer came there none-
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd murdered every one.
Alessandra Liverani
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/big-tobacco-and-the-government/
