The Lord of the Rings

 The Lord of the Rings - that's fantasy, right?

And fantasy, that's just wish fulfilment

Furry wee hobbits - magic by elflight

Very nice, but really not relevant

Well, it's the truth, isn't it?

But see me, I read all that nonsense -

Tolkien, MacAvoy, Elgin

McCaffrey, McKinley, McKillip

Pearce, Hughart, LeGuin

Beagle, Shaw, Pratchett

Some things are hard to encompass

If it's not us or them, black or white

How do we talk about goodness

Or put over the thrill of the fight?

Thrill is the right word, isn't it?

I think Tolkien had a fair go

War is Hell, Hell is war

Two, three, what are we fighting for?

Turn the corner you're into Mordor 

In its full-on Oh-my-God-ness

I have read the other stuff too, you know - 

Ken Lay, Enron's the shape of the future 

Under New Labour our future is bright 

Tony Blair's going to put all to right 

Czechoslovakia's a country in Europe 

Edison invented the lightbulb 

Nikola Tesla, who he?

Louis Howard Latimer, ah!

America still is the land of the free 

And the stock market's going to enrich you and me...

So: trust Uncle Tolkien - believe Mr Pratchett 

Put your faith in the wench with the axe - 

People we really should face it:

Fantasy weathers much better than facts