Read it in the papers:
Evil thrives
In everyday disguise.
The bomber looked like everyone else
dressed in Bermuda shorts
for a visit to a resort
at the Black Sea coast.
Summer, and time for tourists
to take a break, have some fun,
except there was a man among them
planning to take their lives.
And he did:
Seven Killed
The young man looked like a Batman fan,
his gasmask and flack jacket
not out of place in the crowded cinema.
Even the explosion of smoke bombs
seemed part of the show
until the bullets flew amongst children
who had to learn that violence
is not something that only happens
on the screen:
Twelve Killed
The 17-year-old was found naked
on a Sunday morning street,
tearing at his flesh in self-loathing
and crying for his life to be taken
by any passing car:
Bad Drugs
The baby was five months old,
stuffed into the hand-luggage by a father;
its life not worth the price
of a ticket.
Parents Charged
On any given day,
It's making headlines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fireblossom Friday - The Devil, You Say?
It seems all of this is on the increase, especially more so this past couple of years. This hits the nail right on the head Kerry because it's all so sadly true. Sad world it's becoming nowadays, isn't it.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could read about good things happening, am sure such deeds are out there but they do not sell papers.
DeleteWhat horrific things humans do to each other. And, you are right....everyday disguise. You can't easily recognize the 'devils' ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteMan's inhumanity to man beats everything else, because of the consciousness behind it.
DeleteOh yes, evil seems to be there every day right there in our headlines. I like the way your arranged this. Even the red color was good.
ReplyDeleteThanks. the red colour shows a hyperlink to the relevant articles.
Deleteevil lives
ReplyDeleteThis speaks for all of us, I think.
ReplyDeleteThank you, though I wish it were not the case.
DeleteIt makes me sick, literally physically sick...I can't even watch it. What you did here is painfully needed. Heartbreaking. Yes, that is where "evil...the devil" lurks.
ReplyDeleteI also hate to immerse myself in the evil deeds of other people - I would rather surround myself with positive and creative people - but sometimes it knocks at my door.
Delete"Batman fan,
ReplyDeletehis gasmask and flack jacket" ... Whew, is that a tongue-twister! :)
"found naked
on a Sunday morning street,
tearing at his flesh in self-loathing" ... Love this.
"The baby was five months old,
stuffed into the hand-luggage by a father;
its life not worth the price
of a ticket." ... I really could have done without reading this. I try so hard to avoid all news, and you poetize it!!! :) You see why I make up crazy fantasy stories in my poems? Real life is way too real.
I also gave up reading the daily newspapers - now I just catch breaking news, which is unavoidable.
Delete"Read it in the papers:
ReplyDeleteEvil thrives
In everyday disguise."
As you show in its randomness and pathological uncaring.
Capturing today among the rest. Awesome and True, and necessary to show them together in a pile as they continue to amass. The devil has his foot in our door for sure.
I think you are right in pointing out that many people are pathologically uncaring.. What went wrong?
DeleteI wish I knew. Maybe it only seems so because I am not there, and after I read the headlines and write a poem, there seems little else to do except move on. Is that laziness or uncaring? Maybe another choice is nearer to the tragedy and grief--like how change came into South Africa, like how protests eventually worked to end the Vietnam War?
DeleteI like your hopeful response to Fireblossom below, that goodness is also rising.
DeleteWe did avert war in South Africa, and the solution was talking, conferencing, pursuing the truth of what happened and then seeking reconciliation. Also, in the tacit agreement to work for the improvement that was so needed, for our children. Our society is by no means perfect 20 years on, but the alternative is too fearful to contemplate.
DeleteKerry, all true, on any given day. Sigh. Very strong poem which is, sadly, only too true.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad. Tragic that a single person can have such a negative effect of a nation, and sad, too, that we were just speaking of the positive effects one man, like Mandela, can have in similar circumstances.
Deleteeasy too, to believe in conspiracy theories when evil thrives amongst people in power, as at Penn State. not just individual people with individual evils.
ReplyDeleteWhen two or more evil-doers find one another out... beware. There lies the way to corruption and abuse.
DeleteNothing sickens me more than crimes against children. It goes contrary to everything the human race should be about: protecting our young.
These things are almost too much to take, coming so close together like this. It's deeply disheartening. Thanks for being part of my FBF challenge, Kerry; I know it wasn't easy for you to do, this time, but I appreciate it. It would not be the same at all, without you!
ReplyDeleteThe devil may be in the details, but the fact that so many individuals around the world read of evil deeds, and commiserate, send their loving thoughts to those who have been hurt, or harmed, spread the word of injustice and fight against cruelty...all goes to prove that goodness is always in the ascent.
DeleteVisiting once again from the Poetry Pantry: We can never be complacent, it seems. When things seem to be going along just fine something else happens to stir our realization that we have to live our lives fully each day...as we really never know.....
ReplyDeleteWe never know when we, or someone close to us, may become a statistic. Scary that we must live this way.
DeleteThis is such a sad reality. We can't really comprehend why such evil is at hand but it has been so for generations. May these things cease.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts, Dennis.
DeleteHorrible that humankind finds itself moving in a direction of escalating madness. Sadder are the ways that have been devised to profit from these kinds of horror. And sadder yet, are those who tune in.
ReplyDeleteIt is a double-edged sword, isn't it? We have been taught to keep abreast of the news, but has increasing media attention stimulated some of these acts of violence? Good question.
Deleteone wonders how we have survived so long...
ReplyDeleteThe population explosion? A few individual lives seem to hold little worth to those who take them.
DeleteI'm not a news watcher and while I watched the "special" coverage on a station that shall remain unnamed I was bothered how these tragedies get weaved into a story to sell... your poem is the exact opposite. It offered a great space to hold the questions, as well as the horror they invite.
ReplyDeleteThank you for those words. It is true that in disseminating the news these days, events are often turned into a form of circus entertainment, something else to sell.
DeleteA sad commentary on the callous way that people sometimes treat others. It is hard to keep hope when such headlines blare out at us. Good to remind ourselves that there are other perspectives... and goodness... in the world that never sees the public light of day.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is the untold good in man that keeps me in hope. Thanks for coming over to read.
DeleteBack again, from the Pantry. This poem hit me even harder this time around, and I love reading the intelligent and compassionate comments that follow. I love what you say about goodness being in the ascent. I have to continue to believe that the goodness of human hearts exceeds the blackness. One must have hope.
ReplyDeleteThe comments alone prove the point that the majority abhor unnecessary violence and hatred, but it is awful to have to stand witness to human atrocity.
DeleteI like the format of the news, each scene a heart breaking one ~ It exists in the world, but hopefully it calls to attention the need to foster care and positive actions in the everyday ~
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, certainly, and as poets, we have a huge task in front of us: to make real commentary on the state of our lives.
DeleteYes, alas evil is alive and well and living everywhere. Really good post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dave.
DeleteKerry,
ReplyDeleteThis was a tough one to read but sadly reflects the truth. I try to remind myself that most people are not evil but that doesn't make the news. Keep reaching out to others and perhaps one of these tragedies may be prevented in the future.
What more can we do? We do our best, and hope the same is true of most.
DeleteThis was so hard to read, and yet needed to be read. Well written and it is heartbreaking that we can have that level of evil on any given day.
ReplyDeleteYes. I find opening the newspaper a heartbreaking exercise in itself. Thanks for your words.
DeleteI think I heard echoes of your words when I wrote my latest piece...
ReplyDelete