The door to the house of democracy
   is being kicked in
      its windows smashed
         roof stripped

all that’s left is a shell of a building
   that once housed many

      it’s currently floating    
        on the stock market
          it is not a listed building

 care-workers  brickies  plumbers
      and sparks from all over the country
             are rushing to clear the debris

they are rebuilding
    linking arms
        and fighting back

slates   timber   floorboards   
     have been ordered
prospective tenants are applying
     in their thousands

a surveyor’s report is expected

Owen Gallagher is a working-class writer, born in Gorbals, Glasgow who now lives in London. He left school at 15 and worked in factories and on building sites, also as a street-sweeper and bus conductor. His latest publication is: Clydebuilt (Smokestack, 2019)