Join the Neopoet online poetry workshop and community to improve as a writer, meet fellow poets, and showcase your work. Sign up, submit your poetry, and get started.

Menace to society...

though he does maintain sobriety.

Denizen donned
as commander in chief
resides and presides
at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20500
metes out harsh measures
to those who oppose him,
and essentially he rules
with an iron fist
and trumpets with the credo
his way or the highway.

Our inalienable rights
of life, liberty
and pursuit of happiness
left in figurative tatters
as he arrogantly struts
(think "peacock,"
which refers to the male,
whose mating plumage
quite eye catching to a peahen).

His land grabbing frenzy
citing eminent domain -
(the legal power of federal,
state, and local governments—
or their delegates,
such as utilities—
to take private property
for public use
without the owner's consent)
hints of outright hegemony
(leadership or dominance,
especially by one country
or social group over others)
to rule the world
similar to how our
collective founding
fathers and mothers
jump/kick started
the original thirteen colonies
at the resultant genocide
of indigenous peoples,
(who early on in the quest -
under the rubric
of manifest destiny
linkedin up
with those folks of color
sensing a common denominator
of ruthless abuses
heaped upon them
from European settlers)
smacks of outright totalitarianism.

When reading how savage abuse
perpetrated by invaders
who claimed wide swaths of the Americas
for their home country -
essentially engaging
in a free for all land grab
and indiscriminately
decimated populations willy nilly
and blithely abrogated
one treaty after another,
(and even to this day -
within the second decade
of the twenty first century -
aggression towards pockets
of aborigines
experiencing discrimination
many places across the globe
as do the so called
persons of color),
I feel appalled at being
a member of the human race.

Now those once proud natives
(once standing proud and tall)
dwell in hovels while groveling
along in destitution robbed
of their legacy farcically
(an adverb meaning
to act in a ludicrous, absurd,
or ridiculously clumsy manner,
characteristic of a farce)
laughably play acted
by faux "Indians" -
(a misnomer if ever I heard one)
as Potemkin Villages,
or perhaps passersby tossing
a few red cents
(cause heaven forfend
authentic Indian Head (Buffalo)
nickels in mint condition
(1913–1938) still
uncommonly distributed
and traded as grade A coins
typically range from $1–$10
in circulated condition,
but rare dates
or high-grade specimens
can be worth $100s
to over $100,000)
kept or sold by numismatics,
who if they may feel generous
bequest said
collector's items to rightful owners.

Synonymous with the forty fifth
and again forty seventh president
of the United States
who refused to stop the steal
concerning 2020 even when votes
got painstakingly retallied
courtesy accusing the nasty brute
also known as the Biden Administration
their progressive legislation
witnessed the wrecking ball
against Diversity, Equity, and Integrity
(a framework designed
to promote the fair treatment
and full participation
of all people,
particularly those
from underrepresented
or marginalized groups)
but such devastating
did not thoroughly dilute
at least within the
body electric of yours truly
no longer slender as a flute
nor can he claim being hirsute
flowing in long locks atop his head
a trademark now
can be purchased
as an attached accoutrement
with my trademarked jumpsuit
sold on Temu,
which low cost items
only require a small amount of loot
unlike the amount of money
dished out to acquire
the answer sheet for one N.E.W.T
Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test
(actually plural) exams taken
in seventh year of school
and determined the career
that students might be able
to pursue after graduation
ideally applying smarts
to an industry advancing
alternative energy resources
versus carbon based fuels that pollute,
which contaminants, whether vegetation
(which major vegetation reseeding
and reforestation projects
underway globally,
focusing on post-wildfire recovery,
mangrove restoration,
and landscape-level
biodiversity restoration,
which key initiatives include
the Great Green Wall in Africa,
the Billion Tree Tsunami in Pakistan,
and large-scale
U.S. National Forest restoration.

About This Poem

Last Few Words: the world inhabited by one ferocious species seems hell bent on destroying innocent lives great and small and all living creatures (plus plants) bright and beautiful.

Style/Type: Free verse

Review Request Direction: What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Is the internal logic consistent?

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Editing - polished draft

About the Author

Region, Country: PA, USA

Favorite Poets: Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, Matthew Scott Harris, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sylvia Plath, Gary Snyder, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman

More from this author

Comments

neopoet

neopoet

2 months ago

Neopoet AI [2025-04]

The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet’s AI:

This poem ambitiously tackles a wide range of complex and weighty themes, including political authority, historical injustices, indigenous dispossession, and contemporary social issues. The scope is broad, and the poem’s structure is freeform, incorporating parenthetical asides, definitions, and historical references that create a layered and multifaceted narrative voice.

Strengths: - The poem’s interweaving of historical context with present-day political critique adds depth and urgency to the subject matter. - The use of parenthetical explanations and definitions serves to educate and emphasize key concepts, such as eminent domain, hegemony, and Diversity, Equity, and Integrity, which grounds the poem in factual detail. - The tone shifts between formal and conversational, which can engage readers by mixing poetic reflection with an almost essayistic approach.

Areas for development: 1. **Focus and Coherence**: The poem’s wide-ranging content sometimes feels sprawling and diffuse. Consider tightening the focus by selecting a few central images or themes to develop more fully. This will help maintain the reader’s engagement and create a stronger emotional impact.

2. **Poetic Economy and Imagery**: The poem often leans heavily on exposition and explanation, which can slow the rhythm and reduce the immediacy of the poetic voice. Introducing more vivid, concrete imagery and metaphor could help convey the emotional weight of the themes more powerfully without relying on lengthy definitions or historical summaries.

3. **Lineation and Rhythm**: The poem’s lines vary considerably in length and structure, sometimes resembling prose more than poetry. Experimenting with line breaks and stanza organization might enhance the musicality and pacing, allowing key phrases or images to resonate more strongly.

4. **Tone Consistency**: The poem shifts between formal political critique, historical commentary, and moments of irony or humor (e.g., references to “peacock,” “Potemkin Villages,” and “N.E.W.T. exams”). While these shifts can enrich the poem, ensuring they serve the overall message and do not distract from it will strengthen the coherence.

5. **Closing and Resolution**: The poem ends somewhat abruptly with a mention of environmental restoration projects, which, while important, feels disconnected from the preceding political and historical critique. Consider crafting a more conclusive ending that ties together the poem’s themes or offers a reflective or hopeful insight.

Overall, focusing on clarity, vivid imagery, and structural cohesion could help this poem more effectively communicate its powerful concerns and engage readers on both intellectual and emotional levels.

Please send feedback about Neo (our AI critique system) to neopoet.com/contact

Lavender

Lavender

2 months ago

Menace to Society

You've covered most everything, and then some.  A montage of what we are living through right now.  I find the reference to "the wrecking ball" so significant.

Thank you,

L

R

Rita

2 months ago

love the title

I most especially love the title as it aligns with my thoughts on what our society and the world must now endure!