If the price of democracy is eternal vigilance
Then we ought to fire the lookout
In an eternal sea of mendacity
Our vessel is listing to darkness
We can’t agree as one on a singular truth
Beyond the reproach of fools
Who rather kill facts
And irrefutable evidence for fiction.
Who then shall point to the lighthouse
When the lantern has gone out?
The masses who command the match
Or the village idiot who ignites lies?
Let us come together in thoughtful reason
Deliberate with intent to act as one
So no fool may ascend to tyranny
And tilt our vessel towards sinking.
Copyright © 2021 Charles Edward York
No part of this poem may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or form or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the author.*