Modern Perils

by Frank De Canio / May 7th, 2023

By their fruits ye shall know them, it’s been said.
Soft-shoed fascists plunder new laws. Craft makes
street-tough tactics the rule again. A thread
of rumors slither though the streets, as snakes
with slanders give currency to the play
of Grendel’s jaws. Once again, their vassals
are enthralled, as schooled tyrants find new ways
to ply their brutal trade. Social scoundrels,
skilled in euphemisms, make muscled might
the sole barometer of right and wrong.
Good men dance to charming airs to delight
pied-pipers, while children follow along
the twisted pathways of their road to ruin,
enchanted by the message that they croon.

Born and bred in New Jersey, Frank worked in New York for many years. He loves music from Bach to Amy Winehouse, World Music, Latin, opera. Shakespeare is his consolation, writing his hobby. Frank likes poets Dylan Thomas, Keats, Wallace Stevens, Frost, Ginsberg, and Sylvia Plath. Read other articles by Frank.

This article was posted on Sunday, May 7th, 2023 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.