Afraid but armed

· by · in free verse, poetry. ·

Power lies in lies,
like Sauron filling dreams
with fear
not facts

Alt-right trolls and darknet chatbots
rule us with their post-truth rules,
That we are stronger when divided.
That winners take it all.

Renewed in echo from the past
in uniforms and marches,
in boots on cobblestones.
Beware we’re bribed with bread and circuses,
and blind we cannot see their staged reality
of our Potemkin village.
Afraid but armed.

the-declaration-of-war.jpg

The Declaration of War by Otto Dix

Today we are using some of the top words of 2016 for a poem with Mama Zen at toads. Cannot say the list of words made me happy.

December 29, 2016

19 responses to “Afraid but armed”

  2. I just asked Rommy if I could marry the title of her last poem, but there is enough room in my heart. Can I marry the title of your poem, too?

    Brilliant. And like Marrian suggests, a bit terrifying. Funny, too. And like a wise man said to me a bit ago, in “mad wor(l)d… maybe if we giggle a bit more it will be easier.”

    So, I’ll giggle.

  3. It is not a happy list. I share the fear that Europe may one day be a battleground again. After so many years spent trying to keep the peace.

  6. Worrying world Björn and the politicians have it, have us. I am certain we will hear the boots on cobblestone…
    Kind regards
    Anna :o]

  7. What an interesting challenge! And you did SO well!
    This is a brilliant piece.
    The pen is mightier than the sword, not because it wins the battle, but because it wins the war (though many poets die fighting).

  9. A dark warning, Bjorn, and I like the Tolkien and Abba references tucked in there! My favourite lines:

    ‘Alt-right trolls and darknet chatbots
    rule us with their post-truth rules,’

  10. I agree there’s plenty of fear to go around in all parts of the globe. And there is a feeling, not unlike a Tolkien story, that differing factions need to stand united against this ominous shift in the world, even if we are afraid.

  11. Humanity should certainly have learnt lessons from our historical past. Or else it would have been all in vain. Luv the adulting quality of your reality where in fact we hear the echos and we are armed

    BEST WISHES 🍸

    And

    Much love…

  13. It is scary to read and imagine some of the lines. I hear them mostly in tales, the words and lines that reminisce of war. It is always so scary to think of how history repeats itself and always wears blood.

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