Activation
Like a pill
grim and white
I must take,
good for me,
so they say,
take the nasty
I swallow
so much dreck
from high-ups
smiling wide
wearing suits
planting seeds
poison fruits.
Then WAKE UP!
Smell the beans
recognise
what it means
to be snowed
be kowtowed
be reduced,
zeroed, cowed.
Stand up, stretch
look around
take it in
what is there,
not the show
see what’s wrong
make it fair.
Spit the pill
grim and white
stuff what’s easy
do what’s right.
— Michele Brenton
Such a brilliant twist on Helen's last line!
ReplyDeleteThe poem reminds me of the Matrix, and also of an aphorism (by someone whose name I OUGHT to remember): "We give you bitter pills in sugar coating. The pills are harmless; the poison is in the sugar".
Oh yes! Now you mention it - it could be the Matrix except the pill's the wrong colour. Have to say I have watched all the Matrix stuff countless times so there might have been a subconscious influence. Poetry is so interesting, I love how even when I think I'm writing about one or maybe two things and suspect there may be an underlying layer as well there can still be yet another layer I only see long after or when someone perceptive remarks upon it.
ReplyDeleteGreat aphorism too Rosemary. I like it very much.