POETRY FORUM

Tools of the Prophets

by Devorah Titunik on August 26, 2021 :: 1 comment

They believe they are fighting for freedom.
Patriots ready to lay down their lives
To rescue us from the tyranny of
Things like wearing masks.

They gather around their computer screens
To solve the enigmatic clues of prophecy.

They gather around their television screens
To hear and absorb the prophets’ warnings of the
Doom ahead if they can’t stop the changing tide.

They are certain that their god
Ordained that the white man rule.

They will fight to the death to save us
From the dangers of diversity and
Socialism conspiring to displace them.

They pray for the military coup that will
Take over and return the chosen one
To the White House.

And if they were to succeed, they would learn
What true tyranny is like under fascist rule
And realize they were just tools of the prophets
Whose true purpose was to aid them in their
Escape from freedom.

editors note:

These prophets prophesy for profit; theirs, not yours. – mh clay

Comments 1

oxe57
November 8, 2021 at 8:51 pm

Good poem Dev’. They seem to be out of touch with reality.

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A bit about Devorah: I can’t remember a time I started writing poetry, it’s something I’ve done as far back as I can remember. I never used to do anything with my poems, including giving them titles, but just kept a notebook, but my mother would sometimes go through it and type up and title some of them. I was first published when I was 11 years old after my mother submitted one of my poems to a publisher that was putting together a poetry anthology at the University of Michigan. I’ve been involved in various kinds of arts all my life. I did a lot of performing as a child, singing, and acting. My father was a professor of Russian Language and Literature at the University of Michigan and his office was in the same building as the theater department. Whenever they needed a child to play a role in a play, I was the one they used. When I was six while my father was on sabbatical in Russia, the rest of us stayed in England where I studied theater every Saturday at the Drury Lane Theater in London, where they taught singing, dance, and elocution. At that time Camelot was playing at the theater and I got to know Elizabeth Larner (who played Guinevere) who showed me around backstage and fueled my love of performing. To me, artistic expression is like water; you can’t survive long without it. If I don’t write, sketch, paint, or perform often enough, I feel like I wouldn’t survive. I am most gratified when my art helps others; when, after reading or posting a poem someone tells me that before that they felt they were alone and now they don’t. I believe art is necessary in this world that can so often be hard and cruel. It gives people a place to both escape and relate, and is sadly way too undervalued in society today.