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Downwardly Mobile

It's hit me, like flicking a tripswitch,
How a low a mere mortal may sink.
There's a man with no mobile in Ipswich:
It will probably drive him to drink.

With mobiles, we're all touchy-feely;
With mobiles, we're richer than Croesus.
There's a mobile-less woman in Ely:
God help her, she must be in pieces.

Without texting, your life's like a coma –
Can't speak, cannot get any gist.
There's a boy with no mobile in Cromer:
Poor beggar – how does he exist?

Gruel for the girl, or thin porridge,
When she's not on O2 or on Virgin.
And yes, there's a pauper in Norwich,
As if gutted of life by a surgeon.

Being poor doesn't mean that you scant on
Your clothes – or eat bread's deader crumbs.
It's a mobile-free babe in Hunstanton –
What on earth will it do with its thumbs?

Downwardly Mobile
A survey has found that, on average, one in five schoolchildren in England think that not possessing a mobile phone is a sign of poverty. In East Anglia, one in two children think it is a sign of poverty.
September 19 2007

POETRY KIT WEBRING

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