The Stalinists, the Taliban Poem by Geoffrey Donald Page

In dreams they give you lines each night,
the Stalinists, the Taliban,
in trench coats or in holy white.
So, too, the mullahs of Iran.
The SS men of Hitler's packs
and Torquemada¹s Inquisition
with jackboots or with stretching racks
assist you reaching a decision.
The judge from Salem sees you as a
devil he's unmasked at last;
the imam in his sour madrassa
wrings your future from his past.
The certain like their sonnets neat.
And need your screams to be complete.