Friday, February 5, 2016

"He Stirreth Up the People"


1934 A.D.
He stands proud and confident
high upon his mount,
high above the masses
to hide his flaws and failings.
He offers them hope
in the promise of prosperity.
It is some kind of heresy
to dispute his teachings,
as he is preaching his gospel -
the greatness of people
in the sameness of soul; heritage.
He gathers them in,
the ‘shepherd’ drawing his flock of sheep
close to his breast; men, women
and children of one heart.
He starts his oratory like a parable -
a cryptic story, docile tones
descending upon hungry ears.
But the furor builds to a raucous diatribe,
with forked tongue against the twelve tribes.
A new ministry arises, for he despises
their existence. He is persuasive;
he stirreth up the people!
Steering his sheep to the slaughter!
Sieg Heil!


©CE - 2016

Taken from the inscription on "The Masses" - Vol. 5, No. 3, Dec. 1913 


From "Quickly's Winter Doldrums - Jan. 31, 2016:

Radical

Miz Q will be taking another little break now. We’ll be back when the impulse strikes–keep an eye peeled.

Here’s a bit of inspiration to go out on.

image

The magazine “The Masses” was published monthly 1911-1917.
I invite you to browse an issue or two in the NYU archives. See if something strikes you.
 


2 comments:

  1. This is powerful stuff here:
    "docile tones
    descending upon hungry ears"

    Well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, De. It was one of those poems that took on a life of its own when I started writing it.

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