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pr McKnight Mar 15
About plants’ pesticide loads,
they are silent.
About lectins’ gut havoc,
they are quiet.
About oxalates’ kidney stones,
they are muzzled.
About nutrient deficiencies,
they are still.

About monocrop massacres,
they are silent.
About poison-drenched fields,
they are quiet.
About harvester bloodbaths,
they are muzzled.
About the hypocrisy,
they are still.

    But whispers rise, a rustling breeze,
    A crack in silence, if you please.
    The seeds of doubt, now sown and deep,
    May stir the slumber, wake from sleep.
    For truth, though hushed, will find its way,
    To bloom in light, another day.

    And so it goes, the cycle spins,
    The blinders on, where truth begins.
    They’ll sip their smoothies, green and bright,
    Ignoring shadows, shunning light.
    The silence reigns, a hollow sound,
    Where reason’s lost, and myths abound.

    Break the quiet, speak the name,
    Of hidden costs, and shadowed shame.
    Demand the answers, clear and bold,
    Let truth be known, let stories told.
    For silence feeds the hollow lie,
    And justice sleeps, while shadows fly.

    The fields remain, a painted scene,
    Where secrets sleep, and truths convene.
    A silent witness, earth and sky,
    To what is lost, as seasons fly.
    And in the stillness, one can hear,
    The echo of what they hold dear.

    And so they feast, with pious grace,
    On poisoned bounty, time and space.
    They’ll pat their bellies, green and full,
    And preach of virtue, strong of pull.
    The silence thrives, a verdant shroud,
    A self-made tomb, within the crowd.

The whispers fade, a muted plea,
A truth too raw for eyes to see.
The seeds they sow, in furrows deep,
Reap death in heaps where shadows creep.
For lies, though veiled, will crack and bleed,
A harvest grim, their righteous creed.
The cycle turns, a grinding wheel,
Beneath the plow, the voiceless squeal.
They gulp their kale, so pure, so grand,
While blood and bones enrich the land.
The silence cloaks a brutal cost,
A paradise where life is lost.
Break the hush, unveil the toll,
Of shattered lives beneath the soul.
Demand the count, the hidden slain,
The fields awash in mute refrain.
For silence guards their fragile throne,
A myth upheld by flesh and bone.
The earth stands scarred, a muted cry,
A witness to the grand deceit they ply.
The rabbits torn, the sparrows shred,
Fuel the green they smugly spread.
And in the quiet, truth resounds,
A slaughter vast, where guilt abounds.
They feast with pride, their banners high,
On crops that **** beneath the sky.
They stroke their egos, pure and lean,
Ignoring graves beneath the green.
The stillness reigns, a hollow boast,
A creed that feeds on silent ghosts.
Responding to a poem/screed I didn't quite see eye-to-eye with.
Gbenga A Mar 5
nothing makes your head swell more than this statement
"my brother, keep the change"
just like that, you are married to 11 wives
6 of them kneeling with pounded yam and spice
the remaining 5 singing lullabies as 18 cry
with you sitting on a chair, made of bones of elephant thighs.

you feel like if you stood, up on the highest peak
you would see the entire world, high lands and the farthest seas
and when your mouth opens, words coming out to speak
like the grains of sand, the people would pour out to listen.

So here I am, my head, as big as a microwave
walking to my hostel.
for now I feel like a king
but by the end of the month, I'm sure
I would wish I didn't speak.
Jeremy Betts Feb 27
We live in a time far beyond parody
"One nation, under god..." heresy
Belief with an astrix *hypocrisy
Brain rot the byproduct of conspiracy
Write a holy book to weaponize theocracy
Cherry picking for convenience should be piracy
Do as I say not as I do type diplomacy
A sketchy love thy neighbor as thy self theory
"Except for that guy a different shade from me" apparently
I'm just the mirror being held for all to see
If this raises questions bring out up to "the almighty"
If there is a creator, we are it's atrocity
A dark comedy
A beautiful tragedy

©2025
Jeff Bresee Feb 16
Dim lit, damp and distant corner
torn from dream of vapor’s fold.
Slow descent to worlds divided,
nothing hot and nothing cold.
 
Long ago this soul forgotten,
cast off in the ides of youth.
Un-forgiven deeds left hiding
beneath the stone of burden’s proof.
 
Wait to see if fate redeems her.
Wait to hear if time repeals.
Sentence passed down just to mar her.
Word and deed like flint and steel.
 
‘Jezebel!’ they mock to call her,
waging war against the skin.
Pressed on by the mob’s directive,
let the judgment now begin.
 
Scrutinize each blood-stained footprint
left across the ice drawn field.
Hide the ones who hold her province.
Never bend. No, never yield.
 
For from that damp and distant corner
ever flows the world of hate
through the veins of those who think they…
hold the key to Heaven’s gate.
When abruptly, suddenly, and unexpectedly the day
Became the darkest night, countrymen and friends
We didn't know if we should run while saying hello
Farewell or goodbye. The earth was shaking until infinity
Incessantly like afternoon trains coming from countless
Directions. The hour was vital. We were searching for the gleam
Of a hope in order to escape from the supernatural snarl
Where thousands of lives have been lost. Material goods
Are not important, we see ourselves leaving as we
Came. We must recognize that money is futile and peace
Is the most precious thing that we need. The past
This is where stealthy, fleeting and volatile happiness resides
It's like the end of a world. Oh! Every being is useful.

The fault or the rift opened its big mouth to engulf babies
Adults, dogs, cats, houses, buildings and entire roads
That was the apocalypse, which was the end for thousands of citizens
That disappeared like smoke in the bewitched clouds
The trains were invisible but people had risen their hands
In the air, climbing vehicles without doors and tires. Heavy feet
Weighed ten times more than an elephant. We were going to
Unknown destinations. The dumbfounded and deafening cries were
Ubiquitous. Mother Earth was shaking. She shook like she was
About to sink into the sea where the ebb and flow landed
At the skirt of the curtain, where smoke and cloudiness met
Happy are those who have been saved and who live in peace
The earthquake is an infernal avatar that brings sorrow and regret
Haiti, our country has lost lovely people, dear little children
Due to the selfishness of avaricious rulers who are drowning in hypocrisy
We keep saying aloud: poor Haiti, impoverished country. Yet we don't stop crying
While wondering when the tears will cease dropping, melting away and exuding.

Copyright © January 10, 2021, Hébert Logerie, All Rights Reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.
Lorsque brusquement et soudainement le jour
Devenait la nuit la plus obscure, compatriotes et amis
On ne savait pas si on devait courir en se disant bonjour
Adieu ou au revoir. La terre tremblait jusqu'à l'infini
Sans halte, comme des trains nocturnes venant de plusieurs
Directions. L'heure était vitale. On cherchait la lueur
D'un espoir pour s'échapper de l'embrouillamini surnaturel
Où des milliers de vies ont été disparues. Les biens matériels
Ne sont pas importants, on se voit partir tel qu'on est
Venu. On doit reconnaitre que l'argent est futile et la paix
Est la chose la plus précieuse qu'on nécessite. Le passé
C'est là que réside un bonheur furtif, éphémère et volatil
C'est comme la fin d'un monde. Oh! Chaque être est utile.

La faille a ouvert sa grande gueule pour engloutir: bébés
Adultes, chiens, chats, maisons, édifices et routes en entier
C'est l'apocalypse, c'est la fin pour des milliers de citoyens
Qui ont disparu comme de la fumée dans les nuages ensorcelés
Les trains étaient invisibles mais les gens montaient, les mains
En l'air, dans des véhicules sans portes et ni pneus. Les pieds
Lourds pesaient dix fois plus qu'un éléphant. On partait vers des
Destinations inconnues. Les cris abasourdis et muets étaient
Partout. La Terre tremblait. Elle a tremblé comme si elle voulait
S'engloutir dans la mer où le flux et le reflux s'atterrissaient
À la jupe du rideau où la fumée et la nébulosité se rencontraient
Heureux sont ceux qui ont été sauvés et qui vivent en paix
Le séisme est un avatar infernal qui apporte peines et regrets
Haiti, notre pays a perdu des gens charmants, des petits enfants chéris
A cause de l'égoïsme des dirigeants safres imbibés dans l'hypocrisie
On ne cesse de dire à haute voix: pauvre Haiti. On ne cesse de pleurer
En se demandant quand les larmes cesseront de sombrer et d'exsuder.

Copyright© 10 Janvier 2021, Hébert Logerie, Tous Droits Réservés
Hébert Logerie est l'auteur de plusieurs recueils de poèmes.
hsn Jan 10
two faces, two egos
to my face you tell me everything is fine
for every flaw i perform, for every mistake
and yet, you spit venom behind my back on my name

how funny, am i right?
Jack Groundhog Oct 2024
There is no pity in Berlin,
a place of prickly wounded pride.

A city of angels
who fell like scars of lightning
from gunmetal grey skies.

I watch old silvered rolls of film
and see flying columns of seraphim
as they march on by
row upon row
eyes ablaze
flaming swords drawn
in a parody of paradise.
They descended into hell
and are seated
at the left hand of the Kaiser:
Gott mit uns.

This sullen scene of no regret
stains the present with the dead and past:
It fits the flinty nature
of the blunt Berliner
under the ashen skies of winter.

I trudge across a gravel path
in the bowels of Berlin,
hear the grinding crunch
of brittle bones below,
and gird myself for the grim winter ahead.
Inspired by a visit to the Spandau Citadel in Berlin, an old star fort used by the Prussian military right up to World War I.
Karma Oct 2024
The frogs of the forest
Are seldom silent.

Their croaking resonates,
Moving the air like liquid.

Other animals are forced
To listen to the tiny tyrants.

One of the frogs hesitates
Before saying,

The frogs of the forest
Are seldom silent.
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