This challenge comes from New York poet Joe Tessitore. He asks you to use the following couplet in a poem. Post your version in the comments section below:
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How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
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. Ambience Oh, what a difference lighting throws __On these autumnal scenes, As back and forth it hides or shows...
. Chaos Abounds What thoughts are left unthought? What is profound? Does any quest of value still remain? So much...
Margaret, thank you! I appreciate how detailed your reading is (and that you picked up on the cor ad cor…
Thank you Paul!
D.R., thank you for reading! I love that image as well, the phrase used for sleep in the Genesis passage…
Thank you for the kind words!
Jeff, this is one of those perfectly attuned poems comparing the seemingly far off tides with life.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
That forces us to compromise
Our soul, our minds, our eyes
Yet take heed from the clouds comes sun
From tattered soil a vine is spun
Snatched from defeat, victory won
From a mother’s womb a beautiful son
The fossil industry flaunts its stuff
And cries “We cannot fart enough!”
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
How Very Much…
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies –
The baiting, grating grind of hate;
The jarring, sparring, slating spate
Of venom spewed to demonize?
I ache for cruelty’s swift demise;
Oh how I fret and agonize
Over our unearthly state –
How very much.
The day will come to exorcise
The demons keen to terrorize.
Each fiend will meet the foulest fate.
I hear the creak of heaven’s gate.
Oh how I long for love’s sky-highs –
How very much.
Above It All
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies
From bullies born to brutalize –
Those selfish souls in virtue’s guise
Who daunt the heart and haunt the eyes
And turn their backs on helpless cries?
My heart is crushed. My hope is slim.
I’m minus verve. I’ve lost my vim.
The sun’s gone out. The stars are dim.
Tomorrow’s looking reaper-grim.
I long to tear brutes limb from limb…
Instead I kneel and pray to Him.
The beauty of your words and kindred heart
Feel like a home much sought for from the start
They resonate with life and wisdom too
What joy to find a poet such as you
Of course the above isn’t a great poem; it’s just how I feel this moment. This is the first time I’ve ever found a place that seems like I might fit. I love to write, but even if I just get to read here, it will be, and is so far, a great blessing.
Jan, I thoroughly appreciate your beautiful, poetic words. You do fit, and I look forward to reading your poetry… it will brighten these pages. Thank you!
I’m blaming Exxon, blaming Shell
But I am BUYING oil as well.
I drive my car and use my phone,
From these sins I shall not atone.
How very much I do despise
Hypocrisy, stoked fear and lies!
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies
That spins reality and tries
To pull the wool over my eyes
Attempting to deceive me.
When wolves pretend they’re sheep-allies
And try to catch me by surprise
By twisting words so I’ll surmise
That lies are truth and truth are lies
Such things do sore aggrieve me.
When every apparatchik cries
That Uncle Sam and apple pies
And every Stars and Stripes that flies
Are racist symbols in disguise;
I won’t be fooled, believe me.
When CCP and Facebook spies
And mainstream media devise
A plan for me to compromise
My faith and conscience to be “wise,”
I wish that they would leave me.
So as I cross this Bridge of Sighs
And though they threaten, terrorize
And censor when I criticize
I’ll keep my eyes fixed on the prize
Till tyranny meets its demise
And freedom, liberty arise
To rescue and relieve me.
Wow! This poem gives such exquisite expression to the heart cries of so many in this time of relentless attacks, lies, treachery, and crimes against humanity. After reading it, I felt much less alone.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
The answer is to trust your eyes
and common sense, not theorise
and make up stuff to get a rise
and earn that fifteen-minute’s prize.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies.
The puke, the piss, the stench of it,
The false pretence of their remit.
The ease of which they make their din
With smiles wrought of porcelain.
The puke, the piss, the stench of it,
The witless fools that fall for it.
Talk about tyranny, fear and lies… that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Unless you’d like to keep the lies…
Trust your common sense and trust your eyes:
https://rumble.com/vlwish-dr.-bryan-ardis-reopen-america-tour-grand-rapids-mi.html
It’s only about 18 minutes long.
You owe it to yourself and your loved ones.
We once were proud and adamant
And made mistakes. I do admit
To that, but still we had our drive,
Our pride and courage kept us live
And lithe; on course. It’s all we had
Our lives were sparse, but we were glad
To live in blessed harmony,
For most part happy. We could see
Some better ways, and took to them
Beneath our country’s diadem.
Then one by one our freedoms fell
That crack within the Liberty Bell
Foretold this time, when no one knows
Where poison oak or red rose grows
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
Very poignant reflection contrasting times past with times present. I had never thought of the crack in the liberty bell as “prophetic” of trouble ahead due to internal weaknesses in the “metal” of our national life. I find it providentially fascinating that a bell associated with our nation’s founding and named “Liberty” would have a crack in it– a testimony to the fragile nature of freedom in this fallen world, especially political freedom forged from the metal alloy known as “e pluribus unum.”
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
For if the king doth have no spize
I say unto him, you are my prize.
The people of far and yonder,
mustn’t have to walk and wander,
For if the king doth tell no lies,
I speak unto you, he is our prize.
Though such a man is not alive,
The man that stands there is a lie.
He will not sing a lullaby,
He says he will not let his people die.
I wish our king was not a die
That rolled and rolled and made me cry,
I wish our king was but a god,
A king that lifted all this fog.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies,
A carapace of news that’s fake
Now shrouds the truth make no mistake
That it’s the law, you realise
That’s swathed in words that seem so wise.
The many pundits, they advise
We check and countercheck the cries,
We research data, check the facts
See where pixels mix don’t match.
But it’s so hard to analyse
Give up! Give in to fear and lies.
Life’s so much easier on the eyes
With false eyelashes, wigs, and dyes
Why bother with the truth, a blend
Of fact and fiction serves the end.
It’s then that you will realise
There’s naught to fear in all the lies.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies;
For lies, like slithering snakes can wind
Around men´s thoughts and choke the mind.
Like deadly vipers, lies can sink
Their fangs in brains that used to think,
And by their poison paralyze
The wits of those who once were wise.
Lies cast a blinding pall of smoke
On sleeping souls who think they´re “woke,”
Who, filled with fierce fanatic zeal,
Mistake mere hype for what is real.
But just as bad, if truth be told,
Are fears that in their firm grasp hold
Once valiant souls like iron chains;
For fear, from brave hearts, courage drains.
Fear mows men down like withering blades
Of grass, and makes them pale shades,
Mere echoes of their former selves,
Discarded shoes on dusty shelves.
For all whose hearts to fear are wed
Turn into zombies, pale, undead,
Who´ve lost all vigor, vim and fight
As victims to fear´s vampire bite.
That vicious bite turns him who´s bitten
From lion into craven kitten.
A ghost too spooked to scare a mouse,
Who can´t say “boo” or haunt a house.
Now fear is falsehood´s thuggish twin,
Who helps his clever sibling win
Dominion over people´s lives,
By treating them like battered wives.
Thus, fear and falsehood help each other
To stay on top of those they smother;
By threats and fraud and many a ruse,
They hold men hostage to abuse.
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How sad to see men grow so dense
When lies and fear kill common sense;
To fight these tyrants, here´s the key–
From fear and lies, the truth sets free!
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
The same as which I do loathe,
A system that disrespects love and hope.
It’s what is under the hood ,
That is no good;
Secret societies
Of fears and lies.
Though what’s in the air,
Needs no repair…
Let us fix a system that is broke,
For this love and hope.
Best Intentions
How very much I do despise
The tyranny of fear and lies
That from the mouths of zealots rise.
The experts have no bona fides
And skin as thick as hippo hides,
Yet still they act as expert guides
Of mask and jab, much more besides.
Let’s face the fact that man should be
As God intended; wise and free,
Not cowed in fear, made blind to see,
And silenced should they disagree.
What an incredible group of writers this is, and what an honor it is to be one of you.
Joe, your humility is more than refreshing!
It’s a tsunami of poetic humility.
Thank you.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
The dove will tell you with her sighs,
And wise old raven with his cries–
So heed, before the croaking dies.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
The south end of a flying rat,
From eating jalapenos (fat),
He had granola for dessert;
Beneath him! illustrates the hurt,
That brings my anger and my pain,
Which culminates in my disdain.
Loss of liberty
is not blatantly monumental.
Ease the patriot’s pain.
Just make it incremental.
Little doses of deception
are much easier to sup
daintily disguised dictatorship
in a China communist cup.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies!
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies,
Because the Lord abides with me
In case when earthly comforts flee.
I’ll follow your example too,
My Lord, until their plots fall through.
Though I have to walk through the pain,
I patiently long for your reign.
Dear Patricia,
Thank you for your comment!
I’m very glad to know that we could share our christian hope each other through my little poem. “Let light shine out of darkness” (2 Cor. 4:6), I believe that our God continuously tell us so when we walk in the darkness.
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
forced to look through blind mens eyes
asked find hope in a hay stack
my brothers knife still in my back
to let you feed me lies, jaw a slack
took my soul yet call me free
take my labor and murder me
rather dead, then sans liberty
This has got to be better than the first attempt,
How much I do despise the tyranny of fear and lies
Is human life virtual? Now that is the question.
Some so-called experts think so, but
Whatever virtual means, I am not certain.
The definition of virtual is to exist in the mind
In essence but not in fact, or to be programmed.
Is human life virtual? That is the question.
But virtual is a tricky concept to understand
Since we are made of flesh and blood; so
Whatever virtual means, I am not certain.
Moreover is the true nature of the universe
Beyond human comprehension and perception;
Is human life virtual? That is the question.
Is human reality created by someone
To keep us enslaved? But for what purpose?
Whatever virtual means, I am not certain.
Some speculate that we choose the programme
Even tyranny and strife. Do I despise fear and lies?
Is human life virtual? That is the question, although
Whatever virtual means I am not certain.
Why do I always spot errors
after I have posted?!
A Haiku
To submit or not,
Tyranny of fear and lies,
Skating on thin ice.
Some how sent this on its own too-
seems that to submit or not has
a mind of its own!
Two Haiku
to submit or not,
tyranny of fear and lies,
skating on thin ice.
delicate snowflakes glide
blanketing the world with ice,
stalagmites stand tall
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies
Yet I do fall under its guise
And tbose times my soul e’er slow dies
I really like this. I love your couplet
it works perfectly with the one given,
result, a short poem with a big impact.
Thoughts Aloud
To think I thought, “I know you well,”
Only to think I might yet, still,
Have the time to learn what I missed,
Your eyes wide open when we kiss,
How very much do I despise
The tyranny of fear and lies?
I dreamed I saw you, naked, bare,
A lone figure leaning just there,
Arms wound round to shield dainty breasts,
What’s mine is yours, but t’was a test,
How do you cope when this person dies
Peeling faded layers of his disguise?
I flake away what is not real,
Chip marble shavings to reveal,
Who I am, have been, underneath,
Though I planned not to show you anything,
How can you say you are surprised
When I shed my mask of alibis?
We agreed to keep it casual,
Then you happened, oh so gradual,
Take my name or just my sock drawer,
You own this house and so much more,
How mad will you be that I broke,
That this burning fire is not just smoke?
Let me love you how I want to,
Hoist your waist high and hold onto,
All you are, and will never be,
Continuing as “you and me,”
How do you watch us without seeing
When you changed it all just by being?