Demented Democracy?

Tags

democracy, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲?

Democracy, a system often praised,

Assumes that those who vote are mostly sane.

But what if more than half of them are crazed?

Thus less than half, the sane ones that remain.

To whom would this minority complain?

To those who are elected by the ill?

What would such evil actors have to gain

By bending to a far-outnumbered will?

Democracy is not so hard to kill —

It dies, then comes a sick one party state.

The nation could be governed by a dill

To whom the crazy voters could relate —

Perhaps an old guy half way round the twist;

Could such a possibility exist?

— D.N. O’Brien

A Sonnet for Kamala

Tags

Kamala Harris, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

(Since I don’t think Joe can be kept alive for much longer)

(I recycled this from one I wrote for Hillary, but she let me down)

𝐀  𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭  𝐟𝐨𝐫  𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚

A female President? – What could go wrong?
In government one has to compromise,
And we all know the fairer sex is strong
In that regard, and too, unlike the guys,
Gals hold no grudges and they tell no lies.
Logical, clear-headed, rational, and
Like Solomon, judicious, fair, and wise.
Male politicians, on the other hand,
Behave in ways no one can understand.
So with a female leader we can live.
A change for good is sweeping o’er the land.
We need a President with love to give.
Into the depths ancient suspicions hurl,
And give the highest office to a girl.

— D.N. O’Brien

A Visit From the Truth Police

Tags

Australian poet, Facebook fact checking, Formal poetry, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet, Truth Police

𝐀 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞

A knock upon the door disturbs the peace:
“We know you’re in there sir, let us inside!
We are, perhaps you’ve guessed, the Truth Police,
And we have solid proof that you have lied.
A certain lie you posted has been spied
By our Fact-checkers — open up the door!
There is no place to run, no place to hide!
We have our orders to enforce the law,
And liars like you no way will we ignore!
Now let us in! You lying terrorist!”
(They bash the door down, throw me to the floor,
Put in the boot.) “Now we are really pissed!
We asked you nicely — you would not comply.
Now you’ll learn facts are fiction — that’s no lie.”

— D.N. O’Brien

Creating a Flashpoint

Tags

Australian poet, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭

We need an insurrection to suppress!
Then we can justify complete control.
Our aim is revolution friends, no less.
We need to paint their hero black as coal,
And hope that they’ll react — that is our goal —
We’ll then portray them as the enemy.
We’ve kicked Trump out, and now we’re on a roll,
We must destroy the bastards totally!
So here’s the plan — I’m sure you’ll all agree:
Destruction of The Donald may suffice
To get them rioting — we’ll wait and see —
And if it does they’ll pay a heavy price.
But should this not provoke these “faithful” sons,
We know what will — we’ll take away their guns.

— D.N. O’Brien

Death of a Giant

Tags

Australian poet, Decline of civilizations, Decline of empires, Formal poetry, poem, poetry, Rise and Fall, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐆𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭

You’ve had your time for basking in the sun,
But everything must die, even a giant.
Your face is pale — your race is almost run —
No longer are you fearless and defiant.
You once were dominant and self-reliant,
But now the dwarves have tied you to the ground.
You have become pathetic and compliant —
With bonds of your own making you are bound.
The dwarves all cheer — a little man is crowned —
He reads his speech — the writing’s on the wall.
His dwarfish slurring words declared profound
By all the dwarves who engineered your fall.
You breathe your last; the sky is dull and grey.
A scribe records: a giant has died this day.

— D.N. O’Brien

A Discarded Inauguration Day Sonnet

Tags

Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Formal poetry, Inauguration Day Poem, Joe Biden inauguration, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝐀 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭

In praise of Joe this poem I have writ.
But I’ll not mention any of his flaws —
His hair-sniffing, his groping, all that shit;
His keen support for all those foreign wars.
I love him, for he’s opened many doors
For me, a budding poet laureate.
Oh I know old Joe farts — at times he snores;
But he’ll be dead before long — you can bet
Your house on that. Still, let us not regret
Selecting this frail, barely conscious guy
To lead our fast decaying nation — let
Him show the way as all the old ways die.

I’ll start again and throw this in the bin.
I’ll write some whiny waffle — that should win!

— D.N. O’Brien

A Giant Awakens

Tags

australia, Australia Day, Australian poet, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝐀 𝐆𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬

You slumbered in the south whilst all around,
The world closed in as daring men set sail.
Before long would your barren shores be found,
As eastward did the roaring forties wail.
These sailors and their nations, would prevail —
Your stone-age people would be swept aside;
Their ancient ways dispersed before the gale.
They’d built no walls to stop the rising tide;
Your moat was crossed; they had no place to hide.
And so did you awaken — and in fright!
As to the world your eyes were opened wide.
You rose from sleep — emerged into the light,
And saw the old ways were forever dead.
Your heart was filled with hope — and too with dread.

— D.N. O’Brien

Joe Blow

Tags

Australian poet, Inauguration Day, Joe Biden, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝐉𝐨𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐰

You’ve banished Donald to the flaming pit;
So take the throne that you have slyly earned.
Joe, you have shown that surely does the shit
Float to the top — the tide of truth you’ve turned.
Your gaze averted as the cities burned;
As BLM supporters took their loot.
You and your Democrats were unconcerned
When masked ANTIFA thugs put in the boot.
Who would have thought that a demented coot
Would lead the greatest country on the Earth?
But votes were harvested — low-hanging fruit,
And even rotten windfalls were of worth.
Though you’re a husk that time will blow away,
Wake up Joe! It’s Inauguration Day!

— D.N. O’Brien

The Last Day

Tags

poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲

I worked with a man who was young and smart;
He was honest too, as the day is long.
Forty years ago did our paths then part,
And I thought forever, but I was wrong.
When I’d last known him he was straight and strong,
But the man I met on the year’s last day,
To my memories he did not belong:
He was bowed and bent and his hair was grey,
And he said as I shook his hand: “G’day”
In a feeble voice, (Oh his hand was cold),
And he gazed at me in the strangest way,
And he softly said: “Well you have grown old.”

So we reminisced, then said our goodbyes,
And he shuffled off — with his two good eyes.

— D.N. O’Brien

Certa Cito

Tags

121 Signal Squadron, Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Formal poetry, Gough Whitlam, poem, poetry, Royal Australian Signal Corps, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

𝑪𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒐

The plan is hatched by foolish faceless men.
The squadron’s fate by treachery is sealed.
The method and the why, the where, the when,
Is to the gathered malcontents revealed.
All that the patriotic have concealed
Will be exposed just when the time is right;
The squadron will be banished from the field —
Its troops will be destroyed without a fight —
All trace of it will fade into the night,
And none will mourn its swift and sure demise;
And on its fate no one will shine a light.
But those who filled its ranks — its ears and eyes,
Who served and sweated on that Asian Hill,
They know how easily mere words can kill.

— D.N. O’Brien