The Thing About Corruption

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The thing about corruption

Is that it does not happen behind fancy office doors

Where men gamble between themselves the fruits of the world's labors

And profit is sapped from the veins of the people

Nor does it happen in the seats of power

Where men play games with the lives of millions

And power is gained through wealth and deception

The truth is

It happens in the cradle

Where parents whisper stories of past glories stolen by this group or that

And praise is obtained through obedience to cruelty

It happens in the classroom

Where history is a story of heroes and villains

And truth and wonder are cast in the name of statistics and practicality

The thing about corruption

Is that it does not happen in the high courts

Where men toil in the substance of futility

And the scales are balanced with coercion and coin

Nor does it happen in the churches

Where men twist ancient axioms into modern edicts

And obedient ignorance is commended as ardent faith

The truth is

It happens on the television

Where vanity and self loathing are esteemable

And icons are sold masquerading as products

It happens on the radio

Where distorted realities are sold as dreams to children

And the steady beat hammers twisted proclivities into untrained ears

The thing about corruption

Is that it does not happen at the top

Where men commit crimes of ignorance and piety

And our world is a spectacle of mutual malady

It happens at the bottom

Where frightened children learn the cruel nature of our world

And ancient crimes are born anew in freshly forged criminals

Author's Note

I was going for a strong high order structure using repetition, with a looser lyrical structure using a mix of lyrical techniques to add different accents. Just wondering if it worked or if anyone thinks it would have had better flow with a more fixed lyrical structure as well (rhyme scheme etc.).

Reviews

[DirectTangent]

Whoa.

Powerful write, this one is. Oh, yes.

Powerful content. Reading through, I was realizing a stripping away of fallacies and fantasies with a let's-be-honest-with-ourselves undertone, and you crafted with word choice and structure that greatly adds to your message. I think your approach to the structure is dead-on. I think rhyming may actually dilute this piece a bit, so like how you have it as is.

As the Ivy mentioned in her review, there may be a point or two to make about flow or perhaps certain phrasing, but given the umph of this work, seems small potatoes to me at the moment.

Standout lines for me:
And obedient ignorance is commended as ardent faith.
Where vanity and self loathing are esteemable
Where men commit crimes of ignorance and piety / And our world is a spectacle of mutual malady

I will return again, I'm sure.
Thank you for this. Very well done.

[Dick Long]

I'm sorry I never got back to you eons ago. You read a piece of mine and your review was positive, but I think the twisted part of me loves to be hated. Anyway, this piece you wrote contains quite a bit of power. Fight the good fight.

[APOORVA]

wow! I admire people who give a think to social issues, superb one.
at least some people make time to think about issues like corruption.
keep up :)

[Aventicus]

The thing about corruption, you say. Huh, so corruption has a beginning then? Why is corruption allowed to exist anyways. If parents did not wish such a nature upon their children, then why did they not teach them to defend against it?

[Chris W.]

Because they were taught the same s**t when they were kids, and so it goes on.

[Ivy]

REALLY like this one. Thought-provoking. Last line is great!
It's unique to have it alternately shift from pairs of "it doesn't happen here" to "it happens there" and winds down with impact to the two in the last stanza ... kind of like echoes of truth that bounce off the untruths.
Wouldn't change a thing there, and definitely think your ideas are great just where they are!
But on just a few select lines you might be right to do a touch of fine tuning on the prosody if you're feeling it, for a little more fluidity or semantic impact. You know how it is, when too many syllables or words get crunched tightly together in the same place, it starts to get a little funky and not in the good James Brown sort of way. ;)

That said, still of this poem I am a fan!

[Chris W.]

Thanks, im glad you liked it. I agree that it could use a little tweaking in places. Theres a few lines i would definitely like to replace and some that just need a litte trimming. Thanks for the feedback :)