Roger Phillips Poem by Barney Rooney

Roger Phillips
our local radio phone-in presenter
from his vantage point
that BB called a fence
strove to define some sort of line
between the worthy doing an honest day
and the cipher suits who shape the way
we live our lives astride this mighty river

holder of the ground for the dialectic
giving best value to the commoners' lot
defender of the caller's right to be wrong
to fumble stumble tongue tied
lose their stride

rooted in the always with us days
when airspace has to be prised open
to provide a decent place
for those deemed voiceless
by class, gender, accent or race

when it seems almost a revelation to claim
that decency has a conjoint twin in patience
or triplet in tolerance or quadruplet in …
ah.. enough... recall that
decency, tolerance, patience and more
were honoured, held dear
day after week after month after year

it's a timely coming of age
for the intellectual wing of the
Radio Merseyside Popular Front
alas, a one winged bird
can only flap so long
its stubborn fight for flight resigning
to a graceful descent
of ever decreasing circles