Shout out for those not in the room, for whom
Others speak.
Ha!
Chosen couriers – the loudest
Voices
Shout down gentle tones.
Velvet-voiced assassins
Canvass views, then
Those ‘in the know,’ breathless,
Await the mooted plan.
Isolation stands by, a
Lone voice in
The wilderness.
Bewildered
In the wilderness:
Beg, plea for those not
Present; for those
Ignorant of itineraries;
For those absent
From the picture.
Who will witness the
Harridan, the
Steamroller, blast
Things into place
Again?
Dissent and discontent strike with a
Serpent’s sticky tongue and
Suggest the rest
Go away.
Let those with
The deepest pockets,
Loudest voices
Have their say. Others
May leave.
Go. Go with the majority.
Polly Robinson © 2012
Karin Gustafson, aka Manicddaily is tending bar for dVerse poets today and asks us to write about The Poetics of Presents/ce ~ this poem considers presence and the absence of presence.
22/12/2012 at 14:22
It can be sickening to see the way debate in many things can be dominated by vested interests.
22/12/2012 at 14:26
Utterly ~ I can’t believe some proposals ~ people can be staggeringly ignorant
22/12/2012 at 14:29
Love the ‘dissent and discontent’ line. Nice.
22/12/2012 at 14:30
Hmmm, alliterative. Thanks, Carrie.
22/12/2012 at 16:26
Wow–strong and I so agree! Hey–I got your book yesterday, as a Christmas present to myself
23/12/2012 at 01:16
Good to see, Susan
Let me know how you get on with the book … love that it’s a Christmas present to yourself
23/12/2012 at 01:17
I certainly will, but my instinct is I am going to love it, as I am already enchanted with your voice.
23/12/2012 at 01:23
Aw … thanks
22/12/2012 at 17:14
oh heck..this is tightly penned..strong voice in this…i like
23/12/2012 at 01:17
Thanks Claudia ~ cool new icon for Christmas
22/12/2012 at 23:46
Money rules Polly… The more rich people have, the more they want, so what if a few little innocents are killed along the way. The NRA are disgusting in the way they said, only thing better than a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. What a load of old tosh. Only thing better is to have no guns. Then, there would be mass slaughter what is happening now. Sickening thing is, now, people are buying guns like there’s no tomorrow in case they do manage to change the laws so, they already have theirs. Sad world we live in.
23/12/2012 at 01:19
Agreed Bren ~ and I think it goes even wider ~ we only need think of some meetings we’ve been involved with … what is decided where?
23/12/2012 at 08:00
This was a strong way to write on he prompt…beg and plea for those not present… do hope the New Year brings some good news that helps you all feel a little safer, terrific write. Wishing you and your family all the best for Christmas and New year
23/12/2012 at 08:02
I sometimes wonder where the words come from … glad they meant something to you.
Enjoy your Christmas and thank you for all your visits and comments this year
23/12/2012 at 10:57
I live in a hunting state. I was at a party last night where all voices were against, but 2 days earlier, at another party, all were for ownership.
The majority can be very dangerous, and one person with an assault rifle can be deadly.
harridan: A strict, bossy, or belligerent old woman
I didn’t know that
23/12/2012 at 12:18
So challenging trying to find consensus ~ wish I had answers, but as time goes on I have only more questions …
There seems to always be a harridan.
Thanks for your comments, Sabio.
23/12/2012 at 12:57
Love the harridan in the photo! I wish I had the answer too. I use to live in Pakistan where only the police and army had guns and they tortured their citizens. Then Zia-ul-Haq was out and armed religious fanatics ruled the day. Ya can’t win.
When I was there, we were used by the CIA until we realized they use our info in ways we abhorred — it is all so messy.
23/12/2012 at 12:59
She’s a goodie, ‘eh? heh-heh.
We have no idea of what goes on outside of our own, sometimes sheltered, lives, what others have experienced. Life is messy.
23/12/2012 at 13:07
yes, if you have it use your voice…be the one voice in the wilderness….watched a interview the other day where a guy was so proud he owned 17 assault rifles…WTH for? having armed guards everywhere is scary, letting teachers pack guns in class is scary, (but Texas is allowing it now) so what happens when a kid gets ahold one of them? oy, i dunno
23/12/2012 at 13:11
We need to be that voice ~ find it more than a challenge to listen and see what’s going on ~ there seems to be a madness ~ we are not the only ones to see it …
23/12/2012 at 13:49
Yes indeed….to shout out for those not in the room, for those who will never be PRESENT in the room again. A timely write here.
23/12/2012 at 15:23
Yes, I think so, Mary ~ had to be written right now …
23/12/2012 at 14:16
The meek will inherit nothing unless they stand up and start shouting !!! Long live the 99%
23/12/2012 at 15:24
We do what we can … and trust … and hope …
23/12/2012 at 14:34
Isn’t it sad that the loudest voice are the ones with money and influence ~ But you know one voice, even if a silent or dissenting one is just as important. Sometimes that voice will carry to other voices, and may change the course of a nation’s history ~
Happy Holidays ~
23/12/2012 at 15:25
That’s what we’d aim for, I guess ~ carrying voices ~ even those that feel as though they’re isolated,
Seasons Greetings
23/12/2012 at 15:26
Hi Polly – Your picture wouldn’t come up, but very cool poem. It has an impassioned tone and your short lines give a kind of stridency (the good kind) – also love how velvet voice can also be drowning-out voice. k.
23/12/2012 at 15:27
Hmmm … wonder if it’s a copyright thing with the pic … I’ll change it. Sometimes a velvet voice can work ‘eh?
Nice prompt, k.
26/12/2012 at 02:25
Excellent poem, Polly! Also enjoyed reading the comments. You know where I stand
26/12/2012 at 09:12
I do, Ann. Glad you enjoyed ‘Bewildered Wilderness’ x
22/01/2013 at 17:25
Haha, still laughing at the image of someone with “fire arms” sitting in a lounge. Sometimes the absent voices are even in the room; they’re just shouted down by a few loud mouths.
22/01/2013 at 17:26
heh-heh … you’ve been there ‘eh?
22/01/2013 at 17:43
Yes–it was a “group interview” for a scholarship. I’ve never seen people get so loud and obnoxious. I was not about to match their volume or veracity. I did not end up getting that particular scholarship.
22/01/2013 at 17:47
… and if you’re anything like me, neither would you have wanted it! We don’t need to work with people like that …
22/01/2013 at 17:50
Exactly! If that’s the kind of behavior it takes to get ahead in this world, then I’ll gladly stay behind.
22/01/2013 at 18:22
Me too …
How good of you to revisit this post