We are The dreamers of dreams
But they are the creators of nightmares
She cannot bear to listen to the news now
He oscillates between feeling fury and futility
They control the narrative with false news
We cannot believe the lies that others will swallow
They wave false flags to justify
Their repressive responses
We wonder where the bullies came from
That swell their ranks
They raise their fists in anger
We throw up our hands in horror
They wave their guns in the air
We waiver in fear for our lives
But he nurtures resistance
And she writes poems and placards
He investigates logistics
She strategizes
They start a movement
Others join the march
All are non-violent but
They shout “We the People!”
And congregate to be counted
He who would be strong
Looks weaker by the day
They garner solidarity
We can push back
I can have hope…
© Andrew Wilson, 2025
The opening line of this poem is taken from “Ode” by the poet Arthur O’Shaughnessy and first published in 1873.[1] It is the first poem in O’Shaughnessy’s collection Music and Moonlight (1874). In it, he extols the role of artists in creating new worlds and the poem was put to music by Edward Elgar as The Music Makers (Op. 69) – Elgar’s final choral work. Both poem and choral piece should inspire us to come our of the shadows currently being cast by authoritarian regimes around the world today, and to stand together…
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Björn Rudberg (brudberg) in Meeting the Bar: Critique and Craft, challenges us to adopt a different POV – through the use of different pronouns, we can move out of our (sometimes) preferred First Person Point of View…
So true… and I think we have to. Resistance come in many sorts… imagine how easy we could tank his economy by simply stop buying all but the most necessary.
I think people have not quite realised that they have to take extraordinary action thenselves yet – nobody is coming to rescue them…
Your opening lines drew me right in. I feel this poem and find it heartening – resistance is all we have left.
I am glad you took some succour from it Sherry 🙏🏻
So very real, so very happening. Hope , the intangible is a credible input
Much♡love
Thanks, Gillena – I hope your politics are not so bad…
“They control the narrative with false news,”.. yes, yes! This is so timely and apt. It applies to media and politics all around the world!
Sadly so, Sanaa – I tried not to make it too place specific, that being the case…
I love how you blended perspectives .. moving from first person plural .. to third person .. to first person singular! Currently, solidarity feels like a fantasy .. never giving up is crucial. Bravo, Andrew!
Thank you Helen, I listened to this chorale as a teenager but didn’t really appreciate the meanings, but reading O’Shaunessy’s poem now it is so aposite to our times…
I am trying to hold on to hope! My husband and I will be traveling overseas soon and this is the first time in my life that I had to consider the implications of getting back into the United States without any of the hardships or legal issues so many people get hit with. We are probably buying burner phones now that confiscating phones is a threat! We have to hope this will all end and things can be turned around.
I certainly wouldn’t bring my phone into the US assuming they would even let me in – I hope you don’t have anny problems Christine…
Well done, Andrew. It is interesting to me that we assume everyone else thinks the same way we do! We see this all the time with political parties when they present things!
You’re right Dwight and many of Trump’s base might read this and think it describes Democrats…
It’s because of those ‘creators of nightmares’ that I can’t bear to listen to the news now, Andrew, nor can I believe the lies that others will swallow. I don’t recognise the world these days.
I’m sure if you don’t watch the news, the world of Norfolk seems much the same as ever and who can blame you Kim…
The government is shut down, so I (along with millions of other Americans) will not be receiving assistance for food this month.
I have been wonderinng when tjat would affect you and many others who are, unlike you, Trump’s base…