There was silence in the streets today,
In all of them,
In Atlanta,
In Dallas,
In Houston,
In Philadelphia,
In LA,
In New York,
There was silence in all those streets in those cities,
And in all others,
Silence in every city in the United States.
The people walk softly and drive cars that make no noise.
The tapping of feet on sidewalks could be Morse code, and since the war was lost all communication comes at risk.
The war between the government and its people has been lost.
There is no free speech.
We are allowed no opinion.
No song can have meaning, no poem express emotion,
No painting can be more than a likeness.
The last free speaker, a famous infidel, a useless martyr was shot outside my window last night and then the man who shot him was gassed to death. The sound from the shot had echoed, the government couldn’t know whether it had been an accident or a secret code.
Better dead than uncertain.
I cannot say that that was bad,
I cannot say that I wish for better,
I cannot tell you how I feel or that I feel the silence is spreading to other countries.
I cannot tell you the stories of my mother, of the first Silence,
Of cd’s broken and books burned.
I cannot tell you or some fool will kill me too loudly and die for imagined free speech.
It’s 2056, it’s 2056, it’s 2056, but it started with a 7, it started with a 7, it stared with the SHAC 7.
Jailed in 2006 for having a firm position and convincing too many people, for speaking out too well for speaking freely the histories call them terrorists but what does that mean when walking too loudly gets you prison and interrogation, when possession of an Ipod gets you death?
The land of the free and the home of the brave is a terrified nation of weaklings and slaves now in 2056….
Wait! I shouldn’t have said that - the spying computers and cameras are buzzing the alarm. What can I say for my last words? I have no daughter to pass the story to they broke down the door they’re coming up the stairs remember me
Remember killing in the name of the Silence, remember books and music and remember art with meaning. Remember the SHAC 7, Remember the SHAC 7 It’s 2056, it’s 2056, it’s 2056,
Remember free speech.
I wrote this poem after hearing the story of the shac7. 6 jailed originally, 1 freed for having served his time. you can learn more about them at www.shac7.com.
I've written poems about the original Silencings ( the ones that killed free speech in art, books, music ect.) and will post them soon
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1 comment:
Great poem.
Reminds of Pastor Martin Niemöller's poem that he wrote about the 3rd Reich:
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out to me.
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Will watch your blog with interest.
Diana (from Switzerland)
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