The Power Of Banned Phrase

The Power Of Banned Phrase

A poem by Michael Joseph Farrelly

There there my panicked pet
Let the kenneled poodles yap
As their echo chambers fret
With baked-fear as a trap

Slowly slowly prise the gate
For which they said no key
No panopticon of state
Can cage tongues by decree

Caging speakers never worked
No matter what the era
Martinets that once barked
Were hushed by their own stigma

There's been many lessons learned
By depriving man of speech
It bears forbidden fruit that's yearned
Through red-line censor breach

They can cage the speaker
But they can't cage her praise
All zipped mouth is weaker
Than the power of banned phrase

Why focus on you to groom
Why care what you think
Why ban books, why assume
Why want your minds to shrink

It's all about control
You're not supposed to know
When they push with slick cajole
You're less prone to just say no

Open eyes one by one
With Q's that really matter
Keep it up make sure you shun
All daily propaganda

Free written word will prosper
Banned books always in demand
It just reflects the fear
Of words they don't command

They can cage the writer
But they can't cage his praise
All zipped mouth is lighter
Than the power of banned phrase

So keep the pages open
Keep the words all flowing through
What you ban will just embolden
The curious to view

"The Power Of Banned Phrase" - My Inspiration

History has taught us censorship never works, yet it still persists.

The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, once famously stated:

"What does censorship reveal? It reveals fear".

Further back in history William Shakespeare planted this gem of a line in a sonnet:

"Art made tongue-tied by authority".

MJF

A warm Social Media Welcome to those who believe in the power of dreams

© Quoteikon