Power Play

Posted on by Reena Saxena

They are such a boon
They will sway to your tune

Let teachers mingle with the taught
Let them align with your thoughts
Walk with them, but trust them not
Promise them the stars, sun and moon

They are such a boon
They will sway to your tune

Divergence in a chorus is crime
They don’t have to speak, just mime
Feed the masses well; feed them slime
They must worship you; in a chorus swoon

They are such a boon
They will sway to your tune

Use religion, use division
Teach them the drill, teach immersion
They’ll yield to subversion
They’ll never know they’re ruined

Poetics at dVerse

W3 Prompt #170

44 thoughts on “Power Play”

  2. Reena,

    This is an unsettling poem, like a song sung too sweetly for the bitterness it carries. The repetition of “They are such a boon / They will sway to your tune” is a mantra, a sloga or a seductive campaign hook repeated until it curdles but still holds them entranced. As you say, the masses behave as a single unit swaying to a single tune. The sing-song tone makes it all the more chilling. It’s propaganda in a nursery rhyme voice, which is exactly what makes the poem work.

    Your structure is tight, almost chant-like, which fits the theme of compliance and orchestrated thought. I liked “Divergence in a chorus is crime”. The line does a lot with very little, summing up enforced unity and the suppression of dissent. “Feed the masses well; feed them slime” feels painfully apt in the current climate of spoon-fed distraction disguised as substance.

    By the end, the gnomes are no longer playful garden dweller. They’re a stand-in for a pliable public, shaped and silenced by repetition, division, and spectacle. Yours is a clever poem and far more serious than it first lets on.

    Dennis

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    1. Thank you so much! Remember “Two legs bad, Four legs good” from Animal Farm?

      I watch trade union, political or religious processions and find the chants inducing emotion in the crowds. That is the moment power aspirants strike to align them. I’m not sure how how long it lasts, but maybe they are unable to back off from a commitment.

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  4. Scarily apposite for the times we live in Reena, the deluding of the masses and the victimisation of the different…
    Also brought to mind Frank Zappa’s “I am the Slime” – best song ever about the disease of TV!

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  5. Reena – powerful stuff – this really captures how manipulative leaders operate. The repetitive structure mirrors the very indoctrination it critiques. That line about ‘feeding slime’ whilst promising stars is particularly chilling. Well crafted warning about blind allegiance.

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  7. Great write Reena.

    “Divergence in a chorus is crime” – from a musical perspective this is exactly the kind of music I like the most. I love it when music shocks me away from repetition and the familiar.

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  8. Wow! Power play, indeed, Reena. Sheeple will follow, whether the road is straight and narrow or full of ruts and potholes. The worst part of the situation is it is a worldwide dilemma.

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  10. ‘…Use religion, use division
    Teach them the drill, teach immersion
    They’ll yield to subversion
    They’ll never know they’re ruined’

    Kudos for such a powerful poem, Reena.

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    1. Thank you, Aaron!

      The most ridiculous thing that happened is Youtube videos gaining more credibility than news channels, and news channels mentioning social media posts with comments on their feed.

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