at what point, exactly,
does one’s fealty to a system
becomes one’s treachery
to everything good
still left
here
in this world?
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, January 27, 2026.
Tittu
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: January 27th, 2026 08:33
- Comment from author about the poem: I’m published in an anthology featuring authors from across the Poconos, PA. All proceeds benefit the Pocono Liars Club — a collective of authors and editors dedicated to supporting and mentoring local writers. Available in paperback and Kindle, please consider purchasing one and supporting a great cause. https://a.co/d/58uxM69
- Category: Sociopolitical
- Views: 22
- Users favorite of this poem: Friendship, sorenbarrett, Paul Bell, Mutley Ravishes
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Comments7
Short and sharp, your question, Tristan. Answer: I have no fealty to any system.
But that's just me - others might want to scratch their heads and think about it...... ☺️
I meant the point where obedience abandons inquiry and conscience alike — the turn from responsibility to complicity.
Appreciate the close read.
Dave, well said. Your answer names one possible way through the dilemma the poem raises…stepping outside the system entirely rather than letting it claim you. If it makes others stop and scratch their heads, then it’s doing what I hoped. Thanks for engaging it honestly, my friend. I knew you would. ☺️ 🧊🎭⚖️🙏
Right where obedience stops asking questions and starts burying its own conscience.
That line you’re tracing is the sound of a soul deciding who it really serves.
Thomas - you mean starts asking questions and stops burying ... delete this when you are ready.
Thomas, well said. You’ve traced the same fault line the poem is circling…the quiet pivot where obedience sheds inquiry and conscience follows it out the door. That move toward complicity is exactly what the question refuses to let rest. I appreciate the precision of your read, my friend. 🧊🎭⚖️🙏
A fave for the message so concisely penned in this short but powerful piece. Poetic in its brevity and strength. So aptly put my friend.
Soren, thank you, my friend. The aim was exactly that…brevity with backbone. A simple question in which the asking is essential...enough to hold its own without explanation. I appreciate your generosity and your close reading, my friend. 🧊🎭⚖️🙏
You are most welcome my friend
My friend, this is very deep and a bit provocative... Like and fave
Cellinic, thank you, my friend. I’m glad the depth and provocation came through. That question was meant to unsettle just enough to stay with the reader. I appreciate the like and fave. 🧊🎭⚖️🙏
Good write T. Has Ol' Tom taken up ice skating too?! lol. Aww, he and Obi hardly get much look-in now, with at pesky glugger around.
orchidee, haha…yeah, Ol’ Tom lacing up skates was not on my bingo card either. But there he is, slipping around on ice while Glugger P hogs the spotlight And Obi...dang it, don't go to the far end of the rink, he melted that straight down to water. I told him to leave the saber on Tatooine. 🤦♂️ 🤣 Glad you enjoyed it, my friend. 🧊🎭⚖️🙏
Coming to a city near you.
Nearest I've seen to executioners yet.
Yet no ones arrested, wonder why.
Paul, thank you for engaging it. The fear you’re pointing to, the absence of consequence, the wondering why…all of that feeds the question at the heart of the poem. When systems stop questioning themselves, the cold sets in fast. And yeah, funny how the "law" always seems to work one way, but not the other. Wonder why, indeed, 🧊🎭⚖️🙏
Great question, Tristan. I was just thinking this over last night. A bureaucrat with a house loan, a family to support etc. How far will he or she be pushed before saying, "No, I`m not doing it"? For me, this reveals something deeper, meaning if we weren`t ignorant of who we are and what we can do, we wouldn`t even be in that kind of situation in the first place. Howard Jones in his song "Pearl in the Shell," put it perfectly - "And the fear goes on, shadows, and the tears flow on. For nothing." As one who has struggled mightily with fear and self-doubt I know all too well what Howard was saying.
Mutley, that image of the bureaucrat with a mortgage and a family really lands. It shows how conscience is often buried under ordinary pressures rather than dramatic evil. That’s a quiet but devastating truth you named. Also, I’ve wrestled with that same paralysis…knowing what’s right while feeling hemmed in by circumstance. The Howard Jones line captures that reality perfectly. 🧊🎭⚖️🙏
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