If Ogden Nash Had Had a Bash, (Or), The Cockroach
The cockroach,
No matter what your approach
To assessing its heart and mind,
Is an insect, you will find,
Not above reproach.
In fact, it is despised by the owners of kitchens
As were believers, by Christopher Hitchens,
And also by experts on the law
Who regard it as a legal and moral flaw
For a youth of between 15 and 29
To be so utterly, unconscionably malign
As not to possess a job
When he might beg or borrow or rob
Or at least not think it right
To be a parasite
That entertains a belief
In unemployment relief.
And as if that were not enough,
There is all this further stuff
Of getting into a rage over the minimum wage
Which is so minimal it isn't even there,
And that, we are told, is not fair!
Rights, rights, rights, and never a duty!
That's your cockroach, the seditious cutie!
So slipper it and squash it and ban it on X
Before it proliferates through the medium of s*x.
The author is an economist who sometimes strays into entomology, this being a common feature of old-age unemployment.
This article went live on July twenty-sixth, two thousand twenty six, at one minutes past four in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
