Malcontent (Standing Strong) Poem by John Weber

The people march with natural
authority to elevate noble causes
of fairness and human
dignity; the cries ring out,
echoing off the pillars and
the planks.

Already, a proud majority
stands ready to unite all the
tribes of the world, not through
deception or coercion, but
with understanding and
compassion for life.

Masked and cloaked in black, the
storm-troopers fulfill the
mandates of the owners,
snarling with menace as they
scatter pepper gas from industrial drums,
broadcasting blindness and

panic as they hold their battalion
line, herding the cheated into
chain-link pens to shout with
indignation, the howl smothered
like a madman strapped into
a straight jacket.

My brother next to me balls
his fists in rage. 'We've got
to change the rules of the game, '
he screams, pointing an
accusatory finger at the
looming policeman.

We grin in response, fully aware
of their plan all along. In
this pit of despair our spirits lift
somehow as we realize we're
winning our freedoms back
one voice at a time,

and the only way we can lose
is if we crawl to the level of
the tyrant to react with
rage, justifying their entire
mantra of civilian ignorance
and expendability.

We prove a threat to the oligarchy
through our peaceful organization,
lighting brush fires of truth to
reveal the hidden agenda until
even the most jaded shall stand with us
to reclaim our birthright!