Death by Ideology~

Wounded, the world has been pulled into the war
of words used as weapons, a fight for the future—

the villain, a caliphate with a brutal creed
of enslaving women for blasphemous sex,

while dictating what is righteous and who
must face a sentence of vicious murder.

Preying on the young and disgruntled,
with each prayer call of resentment,

these unholy recruiters fill hearts with hatred,
twist boys into agents of bloodshed.

Fed by digital supply chains of propaganda,
masked soldiers of misfortune slander Allah

as they lob death over invisible enemy lines—
sorties perpetrated as coordinated suicides.

In cities around the world, unaware
they have wandered onto the virtual battlefields

of a marketplace or a night on the town,
hundreds of innocents die needless deaths.

Hearing the news, survivors rush
to text and message familiar versions

of scene after gruesome scene:
Car bombs. Kalashnikovs. Casualties. Candles.

…and in Paris a weary mother endures the temper tantrum
of her defiant son and urges, utilise des mots!

(utilise des mots = use your words)

 

News Links: Al Jazeera, CNN, NPR, International Business Times, The Guardian, BBC
Audio Link: SoundCloud

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Poet with a Press Pass features original poems written by Anne McCrady in response to news stories and world events. The series is produced by InSpiritry. More about Anne and InSpiritry is at InSpiritry.com.