State Secrets (Original Poetry)
There are state secrets
Lurking in the bedrooms, and bathrooms
And dark recesses of the nation
They exist in the wife
She is mired in a depression
Because her husband hasn’t touched her in months
They live in the husband
He is in a deep, dark hole
That’s the only way that he can get hard
They eat away at the son
He is bullied at school
And is consumed by visions of himself swinging from a rope
They have poisoned the daughter
She feels ugly and worthless
And thinks that the only way she’ll find love is by spreading her legs
They are your neighbours and friends, they are you and me
We peer over the hedge
At Bob and his new Corvette
The bald, twice divorced, mid-life crisis prick!
We watch the news
Gleefully waiting to pounce
And find another reason to climb onto our battered, footprint worn soapbox
One day we are foreign policy experts
And the next day we are economists
Even though we can’t pay our own bills unless the computer reminds us
Perceived slights and injustices
Finally get us off our couches
Pitchforks in hand looking to make someone pay
In theory anyway
You can’t have a resistance behind a keyboard
Get out there and fight If you’re so convinced of the righteousness of your cause
Not a single war has ever been won with emojis
Look inward, old salt
Look inward and make peace
With the fact that you can’t fix the world if you can’t clean your goddamn room
You can’t cure cancer if you can’t swallow your own medicine
You can’t stand up for others if you won’t stand up for yourself
You can’t rid the world of hate if you hate me for what I believe
You can’t spread the truth if you lie to yourself about your place in the world
You can’t be a champion for women if you’re just trying to get laid
You can’t advocate for those that have less simply because you hate those that have more
You can’t shout about freedom from oppression then oppress those that speak of freedom
You can’t put me on trial for crimes committed hundreds of years ago by people I’ve never met
You can’t stamp out hate and prejudice by being hateful and prejudiced
You won’t dictate to me the words that I must use
But you’ll try, surely you’ll try
There are state secrets
Lurking in the classrooms, and kitchens,
And coffee houses of the nation
Our egos deceive us into believing
That we can cure the ills of a nation
When our own existence is a landmine
Just waiting to be stepped on
Humanity as a whole cannot be repaired
When the individual pieces are disintegrating
Into sharp craggy pieces
For us to fall upon and be skewered
So do your dishes
Paint your house
Repair your fence
Repair your marriage
Clean up your neighbourhood
Learn a new skill
Be better at your job
Get in shape
Stop lying
Don’t judge
Open up
Take chances
You can’t proclaim to fix the world
If your own life is on fire
You can’t be a saviour
When you yourself need saving
There are state secrets
Lurking in your bedroom.
Images from Pixabay
My name is Scott. I write poetry and other stuff. I'd love it if you followed me.
Something is rotten in the divided state of the USA, possibly the world (I certainly feel this way as both an American & Egyptian). Disturbing essay (as I know it's intended to be) hissing menace, coarse, violent, sexually- frustrated, righteously indignant... tough love, rallying cry... aye ya yay...
Yes, we begin with ourselves, brother, it's the only way. Change is more likely to occur when we address others (and ourselves) with tenderness and forgiveness...
Wishing you peace, @sgtechservices .
Yahia
Thank you very much for your well thought-out response to my piece. It was indeed all of the things that you mentioned. It was a rallying cry for each and every one of us to repair ourselves because that is the best way to repair the world. Thank you again.
Yes, as Gandhi says (and all spiritual truth agrees) we must 'Be the change that we wish to see in the world.' Heaven help us to begin the hard work of healing ourselves.
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#yahialababidi , sorry, but I disagree with you.
I also find the imagery of the poem disturbing, but I also see the poem as telling us that we cannot win a war by making brave statements; we must be brave enough to fix ourselves and those whose lives intersect with ours.
I have a feeling that if Gandhi were alive, he would not be that certain his solutions apply. Yes, if I, as a Greek Cypriot, should hate the Turks (of Turkey) the sayings by Gandhi apply. But we now have our own children who have been brainwashed into thinking all is owed to them, they need not work or create to deserve anything. By being nice to them, we would be pandering to their delusions.
We used to have something called tough love. Thanks to the teachers and professors of our time, some of that tough love would do far more good - at least, that is how I see it.