Be Aware: Disillusionment and Liberty’s Lie

Unfortunate epiphanies from beyond American history.

[Be aware:

We sit at the top of a regime,
an empire of terror that we send out
like envoys abroad;
envoys turn assassins
in bitter self-interests,
sell swords with bloody blades,
the blood of innocents bought
at costs unpayable.

We can’t see the worst--
we only see what hurts.
Blood trickles down
our pyramid of power,
not up,
down to 
the dark pools
of Texcoco,
down from
Washington to Tenochtitlan,
down to Panzos and el Mozote,
dark skin spattered red
by white agents of terror
vested all in green,
burning red flags--
blood in the water,
and we are all blind.

We live in the lap of luxury

our fruit mixed, our clothes laced

with the carnage of our enemies,

the friends of true freedom,

the warriors for justice--

desensitized, our noses

no longer smell the decay

and corpses piled in our

liberty’s lie--

at what cost?

Blood costs for iron rule.

[Be aware.]

Our middle class is a mask
for our poverty,
And our rich masquerade as
middle class,
And when we go abroad we
get back
Manufactured images of idyllic 
views,
And foreign industries that make
it feel
Like home: capitalist, imperialist
haven of
Neoliberalism.

But who needs ghost stories when

your world is a graveyard?

[When the government no longer

serves or represents the

people’s interests, or even the

greater half of the population,

but instead represses them,

it’s time to get a new government.] 

[It’s time for change.

Be aware.]

Author's Note

Playing with format some more.

Reviews

[anartao]

I absolutely love this ! As you know your topic choice resonates extremely strongly with me, and you have once again created a work whose words speak deep inside me. I especially loved "But who needs ghost stories when your world is a graveyard?"
Well done, and i can only hope that these weary eyes will at least see the birth of the change of which you speak.

[sithlordjp]

A smart, thought provoking piece. Love the format of this one, like reading a collage of old half destoyed documents that would have a common thread going through them... be aware indeed! Well done!

[Amanda Granger]

Thanks, JP! I'm glad you liked it. The format was originally a lot more straight-forward but I like the idea of it being something fragmented to show how facts can be distorted and covered up "on the record". Thanks for reviewing. :)