What If

What if this strange, tired, sleeping world Should one day waken from its slumber And like the cold hand of death unfurled Revealing dark secrets that lie among its number, Exposing in the clear light of truth How childish innocence was taken as plunder And how preyed upon the fears and doubts of youth And all the foundations broken down and torn asunder, What if the death knell has already struck And all our precious freedoms are denied Crushed underfoot with a proud and contemptuous look And our great civilisation has already died. O forbid such thoughts even in my fearful dreams That this dark hour be not what it seems. W.A CHOLT. Copyright Fergal O Reilly. 2021. 26/1/21