ken d williams
I am sadand to read this work, vey very sad indeed
ken d williams
2026-08-31

Sameen
First of all, I gotta say that your poem has a raw, provocative energy, simultaneously using humor and exaggeration to make a point about political hypocrisy. As an occasional satirist myself, I wholeheartedly believe that satire can be a powerful tool for holding the powerful accountable.

However, I want to gently point out that the lines linking free condoms for asylum seekers and immigrants to a "green light" for raping children repeat a harmful and deeply racist stereotype. It's the same type of shit Donald Trump has been using to amass his army of White Supremacists in the US. Also, this idea has been used historically, by the likes of Hitler, Mussolini, etc. to vilify marginalized groups and to justify violence against them. It shifts blame away from actual perpetrators and places suspicion on entire communities based on their migration status. Black and Brown people. People who look like me.

I know you might be aiming for shock value or absurdity, but this particular trope has real-world consequences. It dehumanizes people who are often fleeing precisely the kind of violence being described. Refugees aren't going to the west for shits and giggles. They have to flee their homes because they face persecution and violence. Why would anyone want to leave their home willingly?

The stronger parts of your poem, I think, are where you turn the lens on politicians, especially the line, "all at number ten", and suggest they need to "clean up their act." That critique of those in power is sharp and worth developing. The image of condoms as flower vases is genuinely funny and absurd in a good way.

You clearly care about accountability. Maybe the energy aimed at asylum seekers could be redirected even more fully toward those who make policies that harm ordinary people, both born here and arriving here. That would make the satire land harder and more truthfully.
2026-08-31