*BASTILLE DAY 2016*
Before the terror comes the tyranny.
A bloodstained flower has roots in bloodstained soil.
Some would steal the fruit of others' toil,
Then claim it as a right of property.
In revolutions, though, if chaos reigns,
Legitimacy is lost, and many will
Look back with less distaste at former ill,
Eager more for order than for gains.
Days of terror yield dictators new,
As the many yield power to the few,
Yearning for the clarity of chains.
A bloodstained flower has roots in bloodstained soil.
Some would steal the fruit of others' toil,
Then claim it as a right of property.
In revolutions, though, if chaos reigns,
Legitimacy is lost, and many will
Look back with less distaste at former ill,
Eager more for order than for gains.
Days of terror yield dictators new,
As the many yield power to the few,
Yearning for the clarity of chains.
Copyright by
Beware
of inequalities too wide
And chasms that cannot be bridged by dreams.
Societies fray first along the seams,
Then rip apart, exposing rot inside.
In chaos hopes for liberty abide;
Life in its Edenic newness gleams;
Longing is more brutal than it seems;
Ecstatic demons 'cross the wastelands glide.
Do, then, recall the day of the Bastille
As one whose burst of glory would reveal
Yearnings that would stain the turning tide.
And chasms that cannot be bridged by dreams.
Societies fray first along the seams,
Then rip apart, exposing rot inside.
In chaos hopes for liberty abide;
Life in its Edenic newness gleams;
Longing is more brutal than it seems;
Ecstatic demons 'cross the wastelands glide.
Do, then, recall the day of the Bastille
As one whose burst of glory would reveal
Yearnings that would stain the turning tide.
Copyright by Nicholas Gordon
"Counter-terrorist investigators were
seeking to identify the driver of the killer lorry, who a local government
official said opened fire before police shot him dead. The official said
weapons and grenades were found inside the 25-tonne, unmarked truck".
7-14-2016.
VIVE LA FRANCE
