Hush!
Don't say anything
Hide
Hide in the closet
...
Read full text
Brilliant piece throughout.......thank u........anjandev roy.
Soran! ! ! ! I tried to post this in the reply box but nothing happened... so I post it here.: What beautiful things you say here! ! ! This helps me face a blank piece of paper and try to write another poem! Thank you for reading my poetry and making my day! ! !
Dear Madam Hello, this is Very powerful poem with brilliant topic and theme, very big issue has been addressed here by a professional poet; the atmosphere in this poem is the reality in many places but we haven't seen some one write an amazing poem about it as Susan has done it here.. I would say brilliant and it deserves 10/10 as usual, thanks for sharing
Poets try to tell the Truth, But for that they are either Disregarded, Or considered sillier, Than a frightened, Mother Goose. Regardless, Susan, keep shining the truth.
I am sorry it took forever to reply. My e-mail decided that all messages from PoemHunter were scam and dumped them in the scam folder.. I was getting all weepy thinking no one liked me: (I should have known better! Especially with you as my friend! ! ! !
Sandra, ~~~~~ Ph should give a prize to those who routinely write the best comments ever! ! ! ! ! ! ! I so love your comment/poems! ! ! ! You just keep shining that lovely light of yours over this group! ! ! ! ! !
This is a very important step to take at times. Thanks for sharing and the reminder.
It certainly needs careful consideration before stepping forth, doesn't it? . Thank you for reading and commenting
At present the mentalities of some people are such that they are not ready to accept one's bright sight or his valuable remarks. So it is better to remain silent instead of debating which causes wrath and hinders peace. Dear Susan, I appraise your way of presentation that has been nicely inscribed. Lovely poem. A..10
Thank you, sir, for your thought-provoking comments on this topic. To respond to ugliness or hate speech or not to respond. One doesn't want to encourage these people to say more and one doesn't want people to take silence as agreement or approval. Tis a nettle-filled battleground. Thank you for your wise imput and the encouraging remarks on the structure of the poem and the 10!
The internet has a way of misconstruing a comment into something that was not intentionally meant to hurt or anger. That's can be a huge problem with online commenting. I try to be careful what I say to try not to offend or my comment be taken the wrong way. However unfortunately some people look for offense and there is nothing to do but walk away knowing in your heart you have not meant to hurt anyone.
In certain situations, when life itself is in in peril, there is no other choice than to hide. When retaliation can lead to greater confrontation, the wise will prefer to keep silence than create a stir. But keeping silence all the time is suicidal. In a dire situation, if a well meaning friend or well wisher advises us to seek cover, we have to oblige to avoid a broil and to save ourselves from a situation where the choice is between escaping unscathed or getting fatally hurt! Susan, here you have created an atmosphere of paramount tension that there is only a choice between life and death! The power of the poem lies in that escalating tension!
Valsa, your compassion is overwhelming. I do believe it is the hallmark of your poetry. Thank you for reading my stuff and commenting on them... I always look forward to hearing what you have to say and I learn to write with my eyes opened wider and my ears listening closer!
weird and best. to crucify the one who is best. to hide the one who isn't a coward. but he won't keep silence, and he won't hide. we remain in fear... ... ... hope I understood
A complaint about herd mentality, my friend, an aspect of society we need to overcome if we are truly going to plant the flag of brotherly love on this planet of ours.... proud that you read and commented
I Agree with Judith! You Really Put That Perfectly! ! ! Excellent Job! ! ! ! ! Thank You! ! ! Very Much For Sharing! ! ! ! Zillion more 10s! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Thank you, Rebecca. Your enthusiasm is so refreshing! ! ! You enjoy literature like a youngster enjoys a pile of leaves! ! ! ! That's the way I am when I read poetry on this site- -there is always a gem in every poem. And sometimes it is like finding a gold mine when I run across a poet like you. Hopefully these zillion of stars we're passing back and forth will result in encouraging us to delve even deeper and soar even higher! Thank you so much, Rebecca, word Rembrandt! ! !
Be thankful in life! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
This is a vivid poem. I was caught up in the tension of the moment and the suffocating atmosphere of the poem. If safety demands we live such hidden lives, life itself has lost its allure. Our freedom is so compromised in this poem, but the voice of the speaker becomes strident in the second half and that closing image of CRUCIFIXION shows how high these stakes are. DON'T SAY ANYTHING - following that survival advice we end up censoring ourselves, the bad guys in power don't have to silence us, we've done that workd for them.
Daniel, you said it perfectly! ! ! ! - - - - DON'T SAY ANYTHING - following that survival advice we end up censoring ourselves, the bad guys in power don't have to silence us, we've done that work for them.- - - You are a gifted writer and a responsive reader and a very learned person and a blessing to the rest of us on PH. Thank you so very much for taking time to read and comment on this. You give me hope! ! !
They could crucify you...this line speaks a lot. If you don't fit in, you have a price to pay. We have to hide behind masks because we are scared of the penalty imposed on people who dare to differ and reject the common notions. Social acceptance is a universal theme. Your poem evokes strong feelings in the readers no matter which part of the world they belong to. A sure 10 for me.
Thank you, Nosheen, for your intelligent comments about this situation we all find ourselves in at one time or another. I am thinking that it is a universal problem- even Hemingway had to deal with it when he probably would rather avoid confrontation... we all have our soft underbellies. Thank you, Nosheen, for the 10! ! ! !
Your poem, simply written, begins with childhood and in the end, evokes Christ. Yes, the message is simple and it does seem that we carry our childhoods into adulthood with us, so the choice of the speaker sounding like a parent speaking to a child really works with your theme. Being social creatures, we need each other to get along but how far do we have to go along to get along? It seems so many of our behaviors are motivated by fear. It is indeed difficult to find our individual voices and then we have to figure out what do with them. Do we speak out? Do we stand up for our beliefs? Can we weather the consequences of such actions if they are against the norm or the majority? Can we live beyond such fear?
Sadly, it is a fear that can keep us from taking a stand, even a gentle stand, against the opinions of the loud majority. We all prefer to be liked, to be well-thought of, looked up to and we all know that standing up against a banner that is popular to be waved nowadays is not going to be appreciated. Your questions are right on target, Pamela, and oh how we all want to see ourselves as nobly standing up for our beliefs.but oh how we fear the costs- the friends who turn away, the invitations that peter off, the ugly words whispered behind our backs. Society has a lot of tools to keep its members in line...
very good advice for those living in my country! ! you have stated your case well-10
Thank you, Loke. We all need to stand up in kindness, in gentleness, in respect, but stand up and hold firm to our well-thought out beliefs in every nation in this poor beleaguered world. Thank you for the compliment and the 10, coming from a writer of your stature, they mean a great deal to me.
Dearest Rebel with a cause, Brave are those that speak out, That are not afraid of the truth, That can say, I accuse Because my spirit and mind are free And they belong solely, to me. Brave poets like yourself and others here, realize what is going on and cringe at the though of being taken for fools and must express disconformity with what we know is wrong, denounce intolerance as the raven's song. You have done this so well here and for that we congratulate you and admire your stance. Thank you for this wonderful and open work., that will not allow, the Dark Ages, nor intolerance, imprison the free thinker.
Sandra, your poem/comment is much better than my poem! ! ! You are a remarkable person, friend, writer. and member of this site. That image - - - - - that will not allow, the Dark Ages, nor intolerance, imprison the free thinker.- - - - - - says everything I wished to say! ! ! ! ! ! I give you a 10 and please turn your comments here into a poem and post it! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! You wield an awesome pen, girl! ! ! !
An amazing poem. What starts out, or seemingly so, a children's poem quickly becomes a cautionary tale of what happens in a world of us-and-them. It's a paradigm in which humanity seems to find itself trapped. Progressive types are always looking for that one special ideology that will liberate each one of us. But ideologies, every one and all, are just paradigms for setting up the us-them dynamic.....Great poetry!
Thank you, Mj, for your incisive comment. We all need to make decisions about our belief systems and about how far we will go to fight for them. It starts when we are children and way too young to know what to do and even if we are in the right or in the wrong and it continues throughout our life. We believe certain things our whole life long only to find ourselves out of step with society and speaking up will cause a terrible list of things to happen. Perhaps our truths are only truth to us- -but if that is so, truth is no longer a set thing, an eternal thing, and we are set adrift in a universe of constant shifting opinions and turning directions.. We find ourselves at loggerheads with those around us whom we love. or respect and if we know if we speak up we are going to lose and if we don't speak up we have lost our self-respect and a chance to turn the tide of human events or just family events which is the world to some of us...No wonder I would rather go riding... Thank you for your encouragement, Mj, it is totally appreciated. .
The Hollywood crowd tell tales of the dark days of the cold war witch hunts yet do not hesitate to blacklist or spread their venom toward modern day dissenters of their views. Apparently two wrongs do make a right in the through the looking glass mentality of today. Beware those that censure different opinions by labeling contrary thinkers as phobia this and that. Islamophobe, Homophobe, xenophobe. All words to discredit and marginalize. Any questioning of the almighty tolerant crowd will be subject to the giant stamp of RACIST and no debate or even the alluding to an opinion outside of the carefully crafted limits of the acceptable will be tolerated. Reason, logic and common sense are crushed beneath the hammer that cleverly disguises itself as diversity and tolerance. Such a perversion and distrust of opposing viewpoints is found today in Soviet style re-engineering of the face of reality. I hear much talk of the same old villains from pens dipped in the common ink of indoctrination. Written upon that ever expanding page of ignorance. Today the victim is king and the inquiring mind is relegated to the dark corners of society. I love your writing because quite honestly the vast majority of the writers on this site hold the same old views. Propped up to look original but still the same twice-told tales. Those inside and outside of the herd appear to me to be still one and the same. Unable to see the forest for the trees........................keep doing what you do Susan. Brilliant and insightful and a poem that needs to be taken to heart.
Edmund! I would like to think my poem incited and ignited this intelligent and fiery response but I have a feeling that this inferno has been raging in your heart for some time. TThis thing of social correctness is just a way to blindfold the populace. These self-blinded people want to blind and hamper police by taking away for one thing the profiling tool- -yes, profiling can be abused but it is ridiculous to completely throw away a tool that might stop a bombing. Thank you for your ecouragement, my friend
The herd mentality works well for the zebras, sheep, ostriches in life- -they survive, numerically speaking, to herd themselves across the grasslands. The stragglers are brought down and fill the gullets of the predators so that they too may survive. Yet cannot mankind move beyond the herd mentality and enjoy the introduction of other thoughts and goals into its herd philosophy of life? There will probably always be a herd mentality- it may be necessary for survival- but I swear we could enlarge our boundaries and stay alive. Not only survive but grow stronger. So strong that one day we will look at each other and simply feel blessed that we have such a rainbow of souls to live side by side with. Thank you for coming by and reading and commenting, Bharati
WoW! ! ! ! Thank you, Anjandev, for reading and commenting so sweetly! ! !