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IN THE DAYS OF HATE

I
Not since the slave war was there such hate.
There is no refuge in this exiled land
But only fists raised as twisted snakes
With the red venom of anger in our hands.

All fingers point to hypocrisy of the state-
The party of me, party of we, the days of hate,
We pledge to each our separate tribes
And blame the other for the failure of our times.

The citizens retreat to the worship of stupidity
As we become a mass of bickering birds;
Our emperor, with less the honor of thieves,
Leads us to a theater of the absurd.

Vengeance is demanded for our shame
While propaganda incinerates the blame
For whom all is corrupted and diseased
From our once compassionate decrees.

How the loathing within us breeds
To each claim what “we the people” means.
Ahead of us are but more days of hate,
The end of humility and of civil debate.

II

America: history is a defiant river current
That bevels the canyons and floods the land.
We survive the brutal storms and forests burnt
From nature’s catastrophic hands
And recover from the worthless wars
Where our blood was spilled on foreign shores.

America: the soldiers of Caligula delight-
Screaming for walls to keep out barbarians,
Chanting for the empire to restore its might
And claim the right to own the world again.
Yet how can they deny our immigrant soul
And the of history that made us whole?

America: the millennium explodes with science;
The far reaches of the galaxies are seen
As the universe reveals its complexities.
Within the cells of our body are the alliances
Of life with its long and savage evolution-
Yet where is the promise of political solution?

O nation, my America, your, our America-
What argument can bind us again together
As we swear against the tyrants in praise
Of inquisition and then yield to their ravings?
How does it end, these days of brooding and hate?
The party of me, and of we, have ceased all debate.

III

Surely as the sunrise a generation comes
To inherit this rude collapse of love.
All revolutions are born with poems and song
That are sung by the young at the commune wall.
How it is passed on the internet, or the streets,
Is but a footnote for the passing centuries.
This is the counter punch to the reactionaries
And their sneers of how things used to be.

This old statesman is a veteran of demonstrations-
I will use my cane in the long and loud parades,
And chant the doctrines which seize the stage.
You cannot compromise when in the days of hate.
We await your fiery songs to break the chains!

Last few words: 
"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." Shelly. This poem is to America in its lowest hour, and the hope that youth, with its inevitable idealism, will lead us to a better way.
Editing stage: 

Comments

You pull no punches in the effect and responsibility of poets as you say in your afterwords ""Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." Shelly. This poem is to America in its lowest hour, and the hope that youth, with its inevitable idealism, will lead us to a better way. ".

I hope my reading does it some justice and you will give me permission to post it to our Neopoet Facebook page.
https://soundcloud.com/neopoet/in-the-days-of-hate-by-mark-eumolpus-fish...

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

Thanks again for your reading. Politics here is a disaster now, it is shocking and constant. I'm going to try and publish this one somewhere, and will refer to your reading it!

This particular piece I also wrote with an audience in mind- near me a pup called Busboys & Poets
has open readings, and they are well attended (50-100 people). Mostly young, millennial, and very diverse mix of white, black, brown and Asian. Virtually all the poetry is performance art, slam or rap style. This poem I wrote to be read with a lot of "attitude", in the same style you will see at a slam event. As you know, that audience really appreciates rhyme, mixed with rhythm, a beat, and it was a challenge for me to write.
I will be reading it there this wed, so we'll see how it goes!

Eumolpus
I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance
ee cummings

author comment

not a pup!

Eumolpus
I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance
ee cummings

author comment

you know I tend to read dead-pan, rather than impose on the poets own feeling.
I could give this a a fucking dreadnaught read if you like.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

just because I love the poem and enjoyed reading it.

It's not exactly over-the-top. It goes against my laconic Aussie nature to get overly oratorial.

https://soundcloud.com/neopoet/in-the-days-of-hate-by-mark-eumolpus-fish...

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

There is that kind of pounding beat I was trying to create, and you found it.
Much Thanks!

Eumolpus
I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance
ee cummings

author comment
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