I do not admire those who raise the frag-
mentation of our communities, who hide 

in the middle of conflagration, who skulk 

in the camouflage of patriotism. There’s an  
Ag-ony   to   loving   your   country 
committing   to   the   whole   damned 

rag-bag,        flagrant        scumbag sausage-
eating     flabby     scallywag flying-teabags-
like-prayer-flags lot of us.  
On  the  periodic  table  Ag  is  also  silver.  
The precious metal in universal suffrage,

our   idiosyncratic   use  of  mileage,  the 
common language of agnostics and the 
agency      of      working-class      antagonists.
These colours I gladly nail to my mast.

Sally Spiers is retired and lives in North London. Her poems have been published by the International Times, Wild Fire and Ink Sweat and Tears. She was commended in the Artemesia Poetry Competition 2024, the Brighton and Hove Poetry Competition 2024, and the South Downs Poetry Competition 2025. She won 1st prize in the Charm Poetry Competition 2024 and 3rd prize in the Seahaven Poets Competition 2026. She is an active member of the Peace Movement and organises a London wide poetry study group.