Image modified using a picture by MAKY_OREL on pixabay
The New Year
much the same as yesterday,
but I can't help think
politicians still lie
shit still stinks,
morons still vie
over the smallest things,
and rappers still rap
about money and bling
apart from the few
who know the world's a coiled spring,
who know war is an industry
rather than a fucking inevitability,
realise whether left or right wing
it's the same fucking swing,
between two sides of a coin
that'll keep the arms race going
lobbied for funding and tax aid,
and a war every few decades.
Yet, happy new year
enjoy the celebrations,
I wish you happiness for yours'
and for everyone's relations.
All of the pictures used in this post are cc licence, linked below the image. If you have enjoyed this poem, you can check out my homepage @raj808 for similar content. I've included Rage Against the Machines' Killing in the Name for Educational purposes, fair use 😂
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That's the old way. Now is constant war. Maybe it's always been that way. Just how long have we (meaning British/American) been killing people in the Middle East? Killing in the name indeed (love that song; I was a big Rage Against the Machine fan back in the day)
Great poem, my man!
And that is the defo the point of this poem tbh. America, and to a greater extent I think the UK, have been the home of all the major arms companies for at least the last 100 years. It is only now starting to change with a few other major players coming on the scene such as Israel Aerospace Industries. But the point of the poem remains true to its values, if we're making these products, then our governments are going to war every 10 years!? What's up with that? Pretty obvious to me, that some interests are aligning to profit from death, destruction and human misery.
It is a bit of a gut-punch the way I end the poem I suppose, and it might come across as sarcastic, but it honestly isn't.
I wish everyone a happy new year... apart from shareholders in BAE systems, Lockheed Martin and all the other merchants of death 😉
brutal.
yet human.
Yeah, I was aware it was a bit of a gut-punch of a poem.
Lol, especially with New Year being such a traditionally celebratory time.
I think it is a poem people will either love or hate... to be honest I'm much happier with either than a 'mehhhh' 😂
Thanks for reading and commenting @ambigenius 🙂
If we are all running around blind to the serious problems in the world that we face then we become afraid. It's possible to love life and see the world for what it is, if we don't flinch away from the truth.
I absolutely agree.
I mainly write poetry about nature, and my personal spiritual affinity for the natural world, because that is where I find the most wonder in life often, and it is fantastic to celebrate that beauty in poetry.
But every now and then one of these truth poems comes flowing out, and you're right, it very often defeats fear and depression to face problems head on in the best way you feel is possible.
For me, it has always been writing where I can best put across these views. Lol, I'd be rubbish trying to speak up on stage about this type of stuff 🙂
Hi @raj808, Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content. For more information visit our discord https://discord.gg/8CVx2Am
Ouch, that was tough to read... I did appreciate "...the few/who know the world's a coiled spring".
In response to your piece, here's a poem I often turn to when I need a reminder to praise/give thanks:
We must have
the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless
furnace of this world. To make injustice the only
measure of our attention is to praise the Devil.
If the locomotive of the Lord runs us down,
we should give thanks that the end had magnitude.
We must admit there will be music despite everything.
Here's a reading of the full poem by Jack Gilbert
Cheers, mate ✌️
Ouch indeed. Certain truths are always ugly. I'm kinda guessing you're not a big fan of the curse words either.
To be honest though, we have to speak our truth and if it offends some people, well you can't please all the people all of the time.
I appreciated your sharing of that poem, and that line in particular as I'm very far from 'only' focusing on the injustice of this world.
I attend a daily meditation group Monday -Friday where ten minutes is spent giving thanks for the things we overlook in our lives. I'm very mindful of being thankful for the wonder in the world.
However, I think it is entirely possible to point out injustices without identifying with them, which is what breeds violence of thought etc. Acceptance is all well and good, but to be blind to major injustices, or at least not point them out occasionally, is not something I'm personally going to embrace.
Thanks for your comment Yahia, it's always interesting chatting with you 🙂
P.s. I think you might have liked my comedy poem yesterday better than this one 😉
All the best for 2022.
I’m not blind to major injustices, my friend. As a Muslim and immigrant living in the Divided States of America, they are inescapable.
Also, growing up in impoverished Egypt, surrounded by corruption and oppression for decades put things in perspective for me, early on.
Wishing you peace ✌🏼
I did not mean to suggest that you were blind to, or unaware of, the injustices in this world m8, I was just stating my position, and reasons for writing this poem. In part of the poem I talk about rappers - I grew up with a wide variety of music in my life, and hip hop was a big part of my tastes. What I see from rappers these days (apart from a select few) seems to be spurious bragging about money and status. Even gangster rap back in the day, despite sometimes being about murder, drug dealing, violence and other uncomfortable subject matter, they at least shone a light on how a large portion of African Americans lived in one of the most ghettoised countries in the 'so called' civilized Western world.
Anyway, here is a poet/rapper who I greatly admire writing about the arms trade from an anarchist perspective - which is very much what this poem is about. The arms trade is one of the most pernicious industries in the way it is run (pretty much unregulated).
And if no one points out that for these companies, and many politicians, war is a business, then they will continue doing what they do forever unchallenged.
Peace to you also my friend, and all the best for 2022 🙂🎉
It’s the New Year, Rowan, and I choose not to focus on what is unbeautiful…. Violence begets violence, in our thoughts and language.
Here’s mystic Nietzsche, speaking me better than I speak myself:
“For the New Year…
I want more and more to perceive the necessary characters in things as the beautiful:—I shall thus be one of those who beautify things.
Amor fati: let that henceforth be my love! I do not want to wage war with the ugly. I do not want to accuse, I do not want even to accuse the accusers.
Looking aside, let that be my sole negation! And all in all, to sum up:
I wish to be at any time hereafter only a yea-sayer!”
I agree 100% with this sentiment.
Okay, fair enough. We shall leave it at that.
All the best.
Peace 🙏
Happy New Year Raj, it was good to recite and read such a thoughtful poem from you :)
Stay Blessed...
Happy new year @priyanarc
I'm glad you appreciated the spirit behind this poem. It's a bit of a gut punch of a poem I think, especially with the ending wishing a happy new year etc.
But I honestly meant those well wishes to everyone reading. But they create a kind of comparison to the rest of the poem that might come across as sarcastic... I'm honestly not sure if I meant it that way or not 😂
But I do wish for a much better, more peaceful and healthy 2022 for everyone.
A very touching and thought provoking poem, I hope you have a great 2022 friend for you and your family, a hug.
I'm glad you found the poem thought provoking @joseitosanchezs
All the best for 2022 for you and your family 🙂🎉