.
That’s Where the Edge
of Darkness Waits
Antifascist agitators
Sprinkled among demonstrators.
Demon leftist fraudulence,
Tries to spread the violence.
Communistic perpetrators
Lowlife scum are your creators.
Heard your tired refrain before,
Wretched song that we abhor.
Chaos is your closest goal
So that you can take control.
Criminal deeds a crushing tool
To force us into your cesspool.
The edge of darkness I know well.
You find it on the way to hell
Where evil seems in league with Fates;
That’s where the edge of darkness waits.
.
.
LTC Roy E. Peterson, US Army Military Intelligence and Russian Foreign Area Officer (Retired) has published more than 5,000 poems in 78 of his 101 books. He has been an Army Attaché in Moscow, Commander of INF Portal Monitoring in Votkinsk, first US Foreign Commercial Officer in Vladivostok, Russia and Regional Manager in the Russian Far East for IBM. He holds a BA, Hardin-Simmons University (Political Science); MA, University of Arizona (Political Science); MA, University of Southern California (Int. Relations) and MBA University of Phoenix. He taught at the University of Arizona, Western New Mexico University, University of Maryland, Travel University and the University of Phoenix.
Excellent poem, right to the point !
Thank you, Sally!
Very neatly written. There will be some people with genuine grievances to protest about but there’s always an element with a none-too-hidden agenda.
You are so correct about hidden agendas!
Love the title Roy (and of course its deployment in the final line): that last stanza in particular packs a real punch. Well done.
That is a special comment, James. I thank you!
Mannnn… this poem says it all.
Thank you, Mike! I know we share similar sentiments.
Roy, this is a great poem. To my ear, the beat sounds just like an army marching cadence. This makes the meter perfect for the forthright message that says it just like it is… poetically of course. Very well done, indeed!
I love your reference to an army marching cadence! Thank you for the kind comments!
Roy, this is great… it expresses so well what’s going on, and like Susan says, the military cadence of it helps it along. Well done!
Thank you, Joshua, for that reference and comments! Bless you.
There was a soap opera in the 1950s called “The Edge of Night.” As a child, I was scared by that title. But it didn’t scare me as much as the title of Peterson’s poem, and the looming reality that the poem describes.
Hard-hitting, powerful words which pull no punches. And it happens to tell the truth. This is great work, Roy.
I really appreciate the super comments! Thank you, Brian.
Since the 2020 riots, why hasn’t the FBI tracked down whoever’s behind Antifa and funding them?
Excellent question, Cheryl. I have my own suspicions, just as you probably have the same ones!
Because the FBI has been told NOT to investigate those matters.
Dark and effective, Roy. A short, punchy poem like this would seem appropriate in training those whose duty it is to defend law-abiding persons against the darkness.
Wonderful comments from one of the poets I greatly admire.
An excellent poem Roy. Thank you.
I appreciate that, Norma!
Kind of spooky and very good!
Thank you, David.
Direct and effective, this poem held my attention, and at the end, I shuddered.
Mercy. Amazing comment. Thank you, Mary.
Powerful stuff Roy and spot on for these disturbing times.