The Swarm
“Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”
From Lord of the Flies, by William Goldring
They swarm like flies, both day and night,
Just itching for a chance to fight.
They hear the megaphone. It gleams
Like nacre shell, pearlescent white.
They’ve come to find the Jew, to smite
The “Zionist pig.” The swarm takes flight—
The prospect whets an appetite
Already bursting at the seams.
__They swarm like flies,
Abuzz with slogans they recite—
So over-used, they now sound trite.
Awash in Marxist fever dreams,
They turn to see police car beams.
The cause takes on a different fight.
__They swarm like flies.
They Wear The Mask
after “We Wear The Mask”
by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
They wear the mask, which hides their face,
Providing cover to embrace
The slurs, the vitriol, the hate,
The fear and chaos they create
While occupying public space.
Regarding those they would displace,
They’d rather there was not a trace,
But deathly hallows be their fate.
__They wear the mask,
But there’s no mask that can erase
Offense against the human race.
By word and deed they denigrate
A country they don’t see as great.
They lack civility and grace.
__They wear the mask.
Cheryl Corey is a poet who lives in Connecticut. “Three Sisters,” her trio of poems about the sisters of Fate which were first published by the Society of Classical Poets, are featured in “Gods and Monsters,” an anthology of mythological poems (MacMillan Children’s Books, 2023).
Excellent poetry, Cheryl, which has tapped into a despair that the Jewish community in the USA and much of the West is experiencing these days. Your poems are skillfully crafted — especially since both are rondeaux — and memorable for their sensitive but bitter observations. The timing of these is painfully perfect: New York has the second largest Jewish population in the world (after Israel.) Yet the first things Mamdani signed into law yesterday as the new mayor of New York: 1) He revoked New York’s adoption of the international definition of antisemitism; 2) he restored New York’s legal right to boycott Israel; and 3) he reestablished the right for pro-Hamas protests in front of synagogues. How fascinating that Mamdani prioritizes marginalizing Jews and isolating Israel over the welfare of the city he’s supposed to be the mayor of. This is a terrifying time to be Jewish. Thank you for recognizing that.
Thank you for reading, Brian. The recent synagogue incident was the initial inspiration for “The Swarm”. I guess I’d call myself a lapsed Catholic, although I’ve taken to reading the Bible more these days. I don’t begrudge anyone the right to believe and practice whatever they want, as long as they don’t hurt others. By the way, if you’ve watched the movie or read the novel, both are excellent.
Cheryl’s use of the word “swarm” is singularly appropriate. Left-liberals think (if you can call it that) the way huge swarms of flies or locusts do when they are driven by impulse to move in some direction, or zero in on some target. There is no debate, no argument, no discourse. Just a mindless, emotion-driven impulse to act as a solidified unit.
I recall when the editors of National Review (in the old days, before the thing metamorphed into a neo-con rag) began describing left-liberals as “The Hive.” It was a perfect metaphor of the progressivist tendency to think and act like a massive flight of identity-less insects, swarming in a fury against anything that they found objectionable.
The Hive (or Swarm) elected this left-wing apologist for murder and terrorism to be the mayor of New York. After the decrees that Brian has mentioned, perhaps we should call Mamdani the Gauleiter of New York.
You’re absolutely right. Another apt analogy that comes to mind whenever I think of the left is the Borg from Star Trek. In case anyone’s missed it, a direct quote from Mamdani’s speech was “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” It’s all you need to know.
Cheryl, I join you, Brian and Dr. Salemi in viewing the anti-Jewish scum as a mindless swarm. Mamdani is the monster anti-Christ/Anti-Jew/Communist/Anti-American sane people saw coming with his “election.” Your quotes for both poems were inspired as you squarely hit the target with well-crafted verses.
Thank you, Roy. Unfortunately for the rest of New Yorkers, Mamdani’s supporters were more vocal and well-organized.
Mayor Mamdantichrist will, I hope & believe, be dethroned in very short order, Cheryl. With NY City being the American stronghold of the Jewish community, I can only imagine how many plots had been contrived in the event he should win the election, and how many more are being mustered now that he has. I’m with Brian, Joe, and Roy all the way, and very impressed with both pieces.
He may soon learn that actual governance is a lot harder than mouthing utopian platitudes. I guess time will tell.
Cheryl, my first reaction to both poems was, “Wow!”
In “The Swarm”, your analogy to “Lord of the Flies” was brilliantly carried out, with the allusions (I assume) to the conch shell used in the novel as a megaphone and symbol of authority; to the pig; and to the flies themselves.
And your echo of Dunbar’s mask poem is inspired.
Correct, Cynthia. I’m alluding to the conch in the novel, whereby the boys gather for assembly and whoever holds the conch reserves the right to speak.
Swarm! There hardly can be a better metaphor for that mob, depicted with a mathematical precision by the exquisite use of rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration. Thank you, Cheryl, for the new year’s and Shabbat gift I’ll savor until sundown tonight, revolting as the subject is. The imagery you created will never dissociate from this horrible category of humans in my mind.
Thank you for your generous praise, Michael.
Go, Girl! You’ve nailed it. When citizens are clued-in, masks won’t cut it. I’m so happy to have another Connecticut connection, since my alma mater in Middletown has gone off her rails.
Thanks, C.B. If all those protesters are so proud of what they’re doing, why wear the mask? Speaking of alma maters, I’m almost embarrassed that mine’s out of Storrs. I’ll never forget the radical who “taught” Econ. 101. He was all over the map. I took great pleasure in giving him negative reviews. I learned more from reading columns by the late professor Walter E. Williams.
Cheryl, the rondeau is one of my favorite forms for getting across a poetic point melodically and with conviction. You have done a sterling joy with your rondeaux – truth and beauty are rare in this wicked world, and I thank you for yours!
Thanks, Susan. I’m happy to check this off my bucket list and hope to compose many more!
Well done overall, Cheryl, and I’m very much pleased by your recognition of Dunbar’s triumph in the genre. He is too often overlooked.
I’ve long been a fan of Dunbar’s work, his “We Wear The Mask” being my favorite.
Thanks for these two well written poems. The first struck a special chord with me as I am Jewish and proudly Zionist. The nod to “Lord of the Flies” also resonated as I became a Golding fan in my teens.
It means a lot to me, David, whenever one of my poems can impact someone on a personal level. The Jewish population in New York in particular will need to remain especially vigilant over the coming years.