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I Wandered Lonely As the Crowd

I wandered lonely as the crowd
Of harlots, beggars, thieves and shills,
slow followed helpless as it plowed
Through the valleys, over the hills. 
Although the leaders of this herd
Spoke loudly no one heard a word.

Continuous, amoeba like
It searched to find its changing way
A predator, slow poised to strike.
Its followers its chosen prey.
And yet the mindless throngs embrace
This demon with a hidden face.

The strange amoebic being purred
As its harsh needs it plainly shared
Its hum now in violence roared
Against all those who never cared.
A fire lit now boldly blazed
I knew somehow the mob was crazed.

And then they came with boots and clubs
Burned the stores and blamed the owners.
They weren’t the police but hooded thugs
Messengers of unknown donors.
I wandered lonely thru this crowd
And wondered, WHY, is this allowed.

John G. Lawless
©9/20/2022

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Gershon Wolf

Date: 9/21/2022 7:24:00 PM

Love where this went, John. Why is this allowed? -- Ha, ha! You know the answer, I'm sure. ~ Big-City-Democrat-Progressive-Blind-Bumbler: Get out of jail free card give-away this Friday at your local Kroger IGA stores and McDonalds. ~ Lori Lightfoot

Valsa George

Date: 9/21/2022 5:45:00 AM

The crowd can be aggressive and irresponsible. The crowd constitutes the cross section of the society, but a kind of thugs and no one is responsible for the actions ! Powerfull and profound, dear John

Sara Kendrick

Date: 9/21/2022 5:08:00 AM

Good political work using the same contest idea. I wonder how many varieties of works could come from this style. Thanks for sharing and for dropping by my page. Sara

Sotto Poet

Date: 9/20/2022 11:09:00 AM

John, this is Fantastic poetry, especially when the implications of the metaphors are taken into consideration. I liked the general atmosphere and the way the writing flowed.