Poets, take note!

Our rich language
is being dismantled,
right now,
one word at a time—
right before our eyes.

It would be risky even to list
examples, though they are
plentiful.

Fewer “acceptable” words
mean less graceful, meaningful,
and clear poems.

We are also being programmed
to think only permitted thoughts,
and many of the programmed
will react–violently–to anything 
that even hints at a
different view.

And we are doing this to ourselves,
out of fear for what may happen if
(gasp)
someone is offended by what we say.

How does one go about destroying
freedom, truth, the ability to
communicate understandably,
even–dare I say it–reality itself?
How does a civilzation begin to fall?

(You might not want to forget that every great civilization before modern times fell. Every single one. And every “replacement” eventually fell too. We are simply accelerating the process for our children and those poor souls who follow.)

You can see how–every day–
in the way “news” is delivered,
in the careful way friends and neighbors chose
to speak or, more often, not to speak,
in the way we, the so-called “poets”,
keep our bright red blinking
CAUTION
sign on, 24/7, inside our minds.

People tend to get what they deserve,
and we are assuring a certain kind of
future.

Poetry had always been a way
to connect less directly but more deeply,
more artfully, with layers of meaning to explore,
and much to discover
yet, at its core, good poetry
was also honest and brave,
bringing light into
the dark corners.

But now?

Now, the bullies and their enablers surround us,
just waiting to be “offended”
so they may strike—viciously—
and knock our little light
right out
of
our
hands.

So we keep silent,
and fade into the night.