Category Archives: politics

June 27, 2022 · 2:27 pm

Patriarchal Madness – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: the filming of the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, found on pinterest.com (it would seem that Atwood is indeed a prophet)

“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.” Sinclair Lewis

Patriarchal Madness

America the weird,
your beauty fades to ash,
a sickness rules your land,
emancipation's dead and gone,
no one matter's unless you're
hetero, male and lustre white,
no further pretence of 
separation, now a veiled 
leer of legalese, deliberately 
obscuring any path to freedom,
the Joker is your new reveal,
a dance of death is now begun,
you want your children stupid,
and make your women chattels,
your favourite toys are killers 
like your warped religious views,
your mouths are open graves and
you speak of god in pentagrams,
while your morals are carved of blood,
and your unseemly rush to Salem
will consume your generations in
fiery piles of your patriarchal wrath.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®️

73 Comments

Filed under Free Verse, injustice, poem, politics, quote, religion

Tagged as , ,

June 26, 2022 · 12:30 pm

To Tilt The World – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: backyardbuddies.org.au. which also appeared in February for a different poem- a Burrowing Frog

“Politics is the most corrupt profession on earth, no matter where you are.” Charles Dance

To Tilt The World

The burrowing frog must not be sliced.
I resume weeding my contemplative space,
conscious of worms, skinks, silver eyes, beetles,
in the special corner of my garden
where my conscience is raw, open,
and yet there is a man in the Kremlin, 
the palace, the senate, the curia,
someone some place who I 
would not think twice to slice
had I the the chance to tilt the world,
correcting the pH
of the glug that stifles
every breath
of peace 
in me.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®️

10 Comments

Filed under awareness, Free Verse, Gardening, life, poem, politics, quote

Tagged as , ,

June 23, 2022 · 2:20 pm

Berta Caceres – a poem by

Photo: from de ONU Medio Ambiente, the UN programme for the environment.

Note: Berta Caceres was an environmentalist in Honduras who was assassinated in 2016 for her successful work in protecting the Gualcarque River, among other projects and human rights activism. Her murder was initially covered up, but in 2021 the architect of her murder was sentenced to 22 years in prison, but the murderers are still at large. needless to say, these murderers are allegedly a product of the infamous Fort Benning and the former programme of the School of the Americas, which in my understanding is code for training thugs and right wing militants (think Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Panama ….). Berta was 44 years old and leaves four children and a husband, but also a great legacy of what can be achieved even under threat of death – she knew she was on a list.

“They are afraid of us because we are not afraid of them.” Berta Caceres

Berta Caceres 

To say this is my home
is to say that I have a place,
somewhere to take sanctuary
from the pressures of the world,
a door to close against the dark hearts
who do not want me to me to have
this place or my voice, which speaks
loudly for my people, for our rivers
and trees, our homes, for the right to say 
no to those who have no understanding of
our needs, our ways, our culture, but tonight,
although I do not know that it will be tonight,
you will read that they came to silence my voice,
I am not afraid of them, shooting me will not 
silence me, my voice will continue to speak

Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon

All Rights Reserved ®️

28 Comments

Filed under environment, Free Verse, injustice, poem, politics, protest, quote

Tagged as , ,

June 16, 2022 · 3:31 pm

The Hypothetical – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: from http://www.designerdaily.com ‘The Knotted Gun’ Turtle Bay, New York.

“Guns are like thermometers, only instead of measuring body temperatures they measure our fear.” Jean Zimmerman

I found the video footage of Lauren Boebert in relation to gun rights disturbing. The Republican Party seems to be populated by such people and views which is also disturbing. Fear seems to rule elements of America.

The Hypothetical

If Jesus had an AR-15 he'd turn it into wine,
bullets he would make as loaves and fish
a banquet for all and sundry no less,
when Peter drew his sword that night Jesus 
made him withdraw then healed the injured man,
when Judas robbed the common purse and 
sold Jesus out, Jesus went 360 and forgave
him every time, there's nothing like forgiveness
to disarm a triggered mind, while on the other hand, 
there's nothing like illogic to fuel a deep divide.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®️

23 Comments

Filed under awareness, Free Verse, life, poem, politics, quote

Tagged as , ,

June 12, 2022 · 3:30 pm

Don’t Mess With Red – prose by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: found on pinterest.com

“Many bowdlerised versions indicated a Victorian-minded censorship, which feared that Little Red Riding Hood might some day break out, become a bohemian, and live in the wood with the wolf.” Jack D. Zipes

Don’t Mess With Red

As the wolf, that teddy-boy with slicked back quiff and leather jacket, so rugged, so volatile, disclosed his true nature with the flick of his switch-blade, Red took to him with a broom handle forcing him from her house. As she chased the wolf out through the front gate she noticed a woodsman with a clip board , all suited up and frowning.

Exasperated, Red asked him why he hadn’t intervened, to which he replied, with an air of arrogance, “I’m here to effect your detention before the committee.” “O! Really, on what charge?” Asked Red. “On several charges in fact” said the woodsman. “Name them” said Red, annoyed and gripping the broom handle tightly. “Well, you’re so young and you were out after curfew, you were unchaperoned, you entered the woods alone, your clothes, they are inappropriate and provocative, you also beat an animal, and you’re a girl. What do you have to say for yourself?” With a snarl she hit him hard.

There’s a fruit tree in her yard that is thriving, and once a week she takes tea with the wolf.

Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon

All Rights Reserved ®️

34 Comments

Filed under Fiction, Humour, passion, politics, prose, quote

Tagged as ,

June 7, 2022 · 5:31 pm

The Pain – Prose by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Lisa is hosting Prosery (144 words) with an invitation to respond to a line from a poem ‘Notes On Uvalde’ from Girl Du Jour. To read that full poem follow the link below. The line offered is “These are the things they don’t tell us”

dVerse Poets – Prosery – How Many More Will It Take?

Photo: http://www.gettyimages.com (found on Bing) High school students in the US protesting gun violence.

“This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the world. It doesn’t solve any problems.” Martin Luther King Jr

The Pain

I grew up torn by love, when the world was bruised by war and violence I was in pain, and I still am. When people are marginalised, hated and discriminated against I hurt too. Sometimes my anger boils in frustration. Why? Why can’t women determine their bodies? Who decides someones sexuality? Why Poverty? Why war? Why guns? Grief can be overwhelming even when it is vicarious. But we’re all in it together, it affects all.

The real pain of it all is the pain that comes from love, compassion and empathy. The alternative is to stoop into that gutter I am calling out. There is a cost to positive, non-violent action, to standing with the underdog, to protest, to speak out. Sometimes the cost is loneliness, sometimes it is wrangling with the impotence to effect change. These are the things they don’t tell us.

Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon

All Rights Reserved ®️

22 Comments

Filed under awareness, grief, injustice, life, politics, poverty, prose, protest, quote, Racism, war

Tagged as , , ,

May 30, 2022 · 2:39 pm

Armchair Complacency – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: Paris, May 1968, independent.co.uk

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Armchair Complacency

Why do I feel so alone in the world,
have all the revolutionaries retired,
how is it that armchairs are all the rage
and ideas have fallen to banal repetition?

Have all the revolutionaries retired,
it seems that all have surrendered
and ideas have fallen to banal repetition,
where exists the praxis of upheaval?

It seems that all have surrendered
to the algorithm of complacency,
where exists the praxis of upheaval,
how did we become chained to lies?

To the algorithm of complacency,
how is that armchairs are all the rage,
how did we become chained to lies,
why do I feel so alone in the world?


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

30 Comments

Filed under injustice, life, Pantoum, passion, philosophy, poem, politics, quote

Tagged as , ,

May 7, 2022 · 3:09 pm

Tax Deductible – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: theindependent.co.uk

“International aid is just another praetorian business enterprise.” Arundhati Roy

Tax Deductible 

The paralysis of the west is its deep,
unspoken anxiety of imposter syndrome,
that it is a living lie of heroes and bare 
trinket chests covered in cheap, gaudy
promises of solutions wrapped in dreams
of self-serving outcomes pretending to
be hope, masquerading as moral piety,
offering platitudes chained in addiction.
The anxiety of the west is rooted in its
narcissism.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

31 Comments

Filed under Economics, food, Free Verse, life, mindfulness, poem, politics, quote

Tagged as , ,

April 28, 2022 · 2:49 pm

Cynic’s Lament – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: found on pinterest.com

“Politics is the art of making your selfish desires seem like the national interest.” Thomas Sowell 

Cynic's Lament

We decided one quiet rainy day to
quit our boredom and create a 
modern Prometheus , a simple form
recurring, better known today as a 
politician, and so we took a blank,
ironically, and proceeded.

We added one part deception,
two parts lies, three parts bullshit,
four parts hollow words, a dollop
of unreflected ego, some rhino hide,
a sprinkle of facade, along with an
oily smile.

The finished product required, 
we felt, a warning on the side,  
This Product Contains Zero Integrity,
Use With Caution, little did we know 
that this was the dawning of a 
modern horror story, now writ large.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

60 Comments

Filed under Free Verse, life, poem, politics, quote

Tagged as , ,

April 23, 2022 · 3:41 pm

The Cost Of Leaving – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: found on pinterest.com

“If you don’t control your mind, someone else will.” John Allston 

The Cost Of Leaving

The cost of leaving the defined mundane reality,
that entrapment of manufactured truth comfort,
taking time to see how anaesthetised we are,
noticing how we are so easily formed in a bubble.

That entrapment of manufactured truth comfort
with out willing surrender to the thought police,
noticing how we are so easily formed in a bubble,
the discovery that there is life beyond the machine.

With our willing surrender to the thought police,
we join the herd of sameness, lowing compliance,
the discovery that there is life beyond the machine
is an emancipation, a spark of hope in the darkness.

We join the herd of sameness, lowing compliance,
taking time to see how anaesthetised we are,
is an emancipation, a spark of hope in the darkness,
the cost of leaving the defined mundane reality.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

28 Comments

Filed under awareness, Free Verse, injustice, life, Pantoum, philosophy, poem, politics, protest, quote, Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,