This week’s Rough Cuts, again without a theme, begins with a political poem which is related to one I posted last time. After posting the first one without a title, I decided to title it “Pointers”, so this week’s first Rough Cut is in a sense “Pointers (part two)”. Don’t worry if you didn’t read or don’t remember the previously posted poem, however, as they can be read independently.
This week’s second poem is my take on the old adage “Hindsight is 20/20” or “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” The world certainly wasn’t crying out for a new (and far less eloquent) way of saying the same thing, but it occurred to me and seemed somewhat poetic at the time.
I hope you enjoy this week’s poems, and as always, I look forward to your feedback. Have a fantastic week!
Photo: https://unsplash.com/@desrecits
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What questions would you have asked then?
What concerns would you have raised,
had that been allowed?
What conclusions would you have come to on your own,
were you capable of such a thing?
What would you have accepted,
had it even occurred to you to demand
truth,
facts,
evidence,
or, God forbid,
transparency and accountability?
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But you didn’t.
You didn’t even want to
because they had long ago made sure
you wouldn’t want to,
couldn’t
even consider such a thing.
They had long ago made sure
you saw those of us who could and did
as unpatriotic,
if not terrorists.
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Only now are you starting to wonder,
to question.
Only now are you waking up.
Rub the sleep from your brain now and think.
Rub the sleep from your eyes now and look.
Look, there, among the rubble,
burned and tattered pieces
of all you once held dear
but were too complacent and compliant
to protect.
Listen.
Out there in the smokey air, beyond your own wailing,
echoes of our admonitions.
What are you crying for?
Why bother crying now?
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Copyright 2022 by M. E. Forbes
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Photo: https://unsplash.com/@derveit
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The precious is too often revealed
in its absence,
the blind finding wisdom
only in tears.
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Copyright 2022 by M. E. Forbes
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