Thought Police

I'm afraid So afraid Of being arrested By the thought police Their rules are many Think this Think that Don't diverge from the normal Stop playing on the street corner of tomorrow Let sleeping dogs rest Do not question Do not burn on passionate bonfires I watch as they ready their weapons They display arresting warrants through clouded glass Fifty shades of bland Cuffs dangling from bulging belts Bound in self rightous blunder They wait outside my door Screaming bull horns command me to exit my paper freedom I am blinded by search lights, forced to use my third eye Fearful of their uniformed presence How long will they be held at bay? I hold their preconceptions hostage They cannot see beyond their script Trained in the warfare of ignorance They say "who are you, to question our authority?" I answer "I am the poet The one who dreams beyond here and now My words push through yesterday like a plow! Yet I am gentle like the rain Equal parts of pleasure and pain A powerful detergent I remove ancient stains With my words I shake the ground I will not be stopped by another's sound Arrest me, yet you can't stop what I think Within my mind I determine what I drink." The thought police Turn to another The writings of our sisters and brothers They wait, with cuffs in hand Unable to understand The few The many Who have joined hands The poets The thinkers We take a stand Inspired by Eileen Ghali's poem "The Hidden Woman" Catie Lindsay's Heart of the matter contest.