The Ministry of Twee
The Ministry’s role is to banish the soul
_In poems the poets send in—
To snuff out the spark at the core of the stark,
Extinguish the sear of a kiss in the dark,
To vaporize tears in the lilt of the lark
_And toss all but froth in the bin.
The Ministry might let a tiger burn bright
_If red tooth and claw are removed—
When tigers sip tea while the pussycat prowls,
When tigers sail seas to elope with the owls,
When mewling and purring has smothered the growls,
_Then tigers may well be approved.
The Ministry’s aim is to tether and tame
_Till metaphors soar nevermore—
To magnify mild till the flocks are beguiled
By fluff fit to tickle the ear of a child,
Till thorns in a nightingale’s breast are reviled
_And ravens’ bones litter the floor.
The Ministry’s will is to kill every thrill
_In reams rife with rapture and ire—
Those lines (far from gentle) that rage against night,
Then stop all the clocks as the pages delight
The gutter-low gaze with the star-blazing sight
_Of wicked words written in fire.
The Ministry’s goal is to bury the soul
_Of magic that captures the heart.
But wonder has ways of defying the grave
To wander and whisper and beckon the brave—
Those mutinous Muses who ride the wild wave
_To dazzle once more with their art.
Susan Jarvis Bryant is a poet originally from the U.K., now living on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
Thank you, Susan, for this poetic tour de force! Amazing rhymes and witty literary references (I know those better-read will identify more than I did!) and a lot of humorously expressed truth. Best wishes, Bruce
Bravo, Susan. A penetrating expose of the Ministry and its wretched workforce. And thanks for the fun of spotting the poetical allusions.
IMO, this is actually a tribute to none other than yourself, you little ‘mutinous Muse’, you , as inarguably the bestest socially-sataristical poet breathing! Both concisely on-target and alliterasionally-packed, “The Ministry” is definitely a deserving target to opine. You mastered the ‘Art’ of ‘Verse’ long ago, my dear, and I’m always delighted to read your work. Another impressive A+. 🙂
Susan, this is a breathtaking poem which propels forward with locomotive force, driven by a form which utilizes what could have been a “twee” sing-song pattern. All the alliteration and internal rhyme is fabulous, of course, and weaponized in that inimitable Susan Bryant style. What is partcularly unexpected, however, is the rhyme scheme, which goes a-b-c-c-c-b. You never rhyme the opening line of each stanza each of which starts with a pronouncement concerning the agenda of the Ministry, and you do repeat “soul.” The net effect of this is to state a thesis (the unrhymed pronouncement) and to then elaborate on that thesis with the deconstructed and demolished poems that we have come to love (Blake, Poe, et al.) It’s wonderful from a rhetoric standpoint and it’s wonderful from a poetry standpoint — especially the fun (and agony) of seeing how poetry fares when all the blood and passion and controversial material are bled out of the work.
The Ministry of Twee of course makes me think of the absurd lengths to which freedom of speech has been destroyed in the UK (thank heaven Starmer has resigned!) But it also relates brilliantly to all aspects of censorship, both the diminution of free speech and the imposition of squeamish literary figures who have a worrisome instinct to ban anything that makes them uncomfortable.
Your idea of santizing various literary subjects, characters, events is incredible. I wish I’d thought of it! But the possibilities are endless. Macbeth and Lady negotiate a power transfer and shun the murders. Ophelia lives after applying essential oils. The Ancient Mariner never kills the albatross and, instead, donates to Greenpeace. Ahab and Moby Dick kiss and make up. Yes, the possibilities are endless. See what you’ve started? Brava!
We are “dazzled” once more with the art of the Muse who pillories those she may choose.
The “Ministry of Twee,” I am sure you agree, is one that we hope we can lose.
The freedom of speech is what vain owls will screech while the public they seek to abuse.
Madam Susan once more has shone light through the door of those whom we must accuse..
Susan, once again you hit us with a smashing series of left hooks and roundhouse rights. What a pummeling the
“Ministry of Twee” gets! And you use the correct term — the word “ministry” has had blood-chilling overtones in English ever since Orwell’s “1984.”
A Ministry of Twee is a perfect literary concoction — what C.G. Jung would have called a “conjunctio oppositorum,” because it unites two absolutely terrifying tendencies in contemporary social life. They are the very real authoritarian proclivities of left-liberalism when it comes into power, and the mild-mannered, Smiley-Face blandness of left-liberalism’s rhetoric and emotional public appeals. It’s exactly what exists in the U.K. today, and which is threatening the rest of us: the pious cliches of social-service therapists and Labourite clergy, backed up by police truncheons of the Deep State.
You’ve made the whole scenario fit the world of poetry. And goddammit, it’s absolutely true! You can submit poems that are tough, aggressive, contrarian, sexy, contemptuous, bitingly comic, and harshly satirical, and the vast majority of editors simply will not publish them. It’s as if the entire literary world were governed by the Parish Ladies Aid Society, or the PTA, who only want hearts-and-flowers niceties and pious effusions.
This poem has made my day. Thank you, Susan!
Another amazing poetic creation Susan. I echo everything said above and will read this one over and over again.