(Author’s Note: Here’s a poem about US—and much of the world’s–politics in this “modern age,” in which the emphasis of our “hidden persuaders” (and, often, blatant manipulators) is not so much on what we think as on how we think—i.e., shallow thinking. Those who dare to chart their own course, probe deeply, think for themselves,draw their own conclusions, are too often ignored, or mocked, or excoriated. –GSC)
The lemmings are racing into the sea!
Screeching and screaming—into the sea!
Yammering, stammering, clamoring—
Over the cliffs and into the sea!
Memes and tropes are their cri de Coeur!
(Don’t ever ask them to tell you more!)
They’ll scream the latest meme they’ve seen!
They’ll hum the latest trope.
How did it start? How will it end?
They can’t be bothered to think it thru—
They’re a herd, and a wave, and a tide, and they’ve heard:
Life starts over where the seaweed ends.
They’d tell you their “logic”—if they knew what that meant!
They’d syllogize nicely, but they’ve already spent
The gist of their lives “following thru”—
They can’t stop now—not even for you!
If you’re caught in their stampede,
Don’t look back or ahead!
Wherever you’re going, you don’t need to heed
Warnings, demurrals—all that stuff in your head!
Is it fair? Is it right? Is it good? Heaven knows!
They know what they’re told… and they never suppose
Maybe it’s wise to stop and propose
A better ending to all that may be
Than racing like crazy into the sea!
Gary Steven Corseri is the grandson of Ukrainian-Jewish and Sicilian-Catholic immigrants. He has performed his poems at the Carter Presidential Library and his dramas have been produced on PBS-Atlanta and in universities, high schools and Little Theaters. He has published 2 novels, 1 full collection and 1 prize-winning chapbook of poems. His poems, articles, fiction, dramas have appeared in hundreds of global publications & websites, including: Countercurrents, Village Voice, Redbook Magazine, Miami Herald, The New York Times, and Transcend Media Service. He has taught at universities in the U.S. and Japan, and in US prisons and public schools. He has worked as a grape-picker in Australia, a gas-station attendant, and an editor.
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