The Local Councillor

You've just been elected and now you can say
You've a seat on the Council for four years from May;
Next there's the paperwork, filling in forms,
Learning the jobs each committee performs;
Endless reports will quite soon come your way,
All popping up in your inbox each day;
You'll need to read quickly to just keep abreast
Of everything that you are sent to ingest;
Then there's the meetings, which may last for hours,
As councillors exercise all of their powers;
As well there is casework, as you will soon find,
People with problems who feel left behind;
There's rubbish being dumped on the streets all the time,
The park is the scene of an increase in crime;
There's far too much drinking - the streets are awash
With drunks whose activities you're asked to quash;
There's far too much noise, so that neighbours can't sleep,
Pavements that regularly need a good sweep;
Foxes that roam with impunity through
All the back gardens, so they come to you;
Applications for planning will often appear,
Which people soon after will make very clear
Are quite unacceptable, and ask you to act,
Hoping your letters will make more impact;
Complaints re. repairs will most certainly be
One of the things you will regularly see,
As tenants wait ages for things to be done,
With months passing by before work is begun.
Housing is something which can be quite tough,
With so many feeling they've waited enough
To get somewhere decent, where they can be sure
They won't have to ever move home any more.
It may be hard work, but you may well achieve
Far more than at first you could ever believe.