Slow Violence

The media loves violence.
As one editor once said of
headlines, "if it bleeds, it leads."

We, the lemmings, are outraged
on cue, unified on cue. Lights,
camera, action. Our blood sells.
It sells iPhones, music, insurance
Our blood brings frenzies of
twenty four hour, on site coverage.

But it must be the right sort of violence.
It must come in a sudden splash.
It must come in a vivid shade of crimson.

There is no money in slow violence,
the slow violence of indifference,

A child torn to physical shreds is news.
But not a child torn to pieces spiritually
by the slow, gray violence of poverty,
or torn to intellectual shreds by the
slow violence of substandard schools.

Thousands homeless and hungry?
Humans too poor for medical care?
Reel in the news trucks, go back to
your regularly scheduled lives.
There's nothing more to see here.

Author's Note

Reviews

[TL Boehm]

Why are there no reviews on this. I purposely sought you out because I am back active at the cafe and had not seen you come up in my feed. which doesn't mean much but still. This one spoke volumes. A child torn to physical shreds is news.
But not a child torn to pieces spiritually
by the slow, gray violence of poverty,
or torn to intellectual shreds by the
slow violence of substandard schools.

Thousands homeless and hungry?
Humans too poor for medical care?
Reel in the news trucks, go back to
your regularly scheduled lives.
There's nothing more to see here. its a sad truth. And you presented it with clarity.

[Einstein Noodle]

the pic is so graphic ... one can almost smell it ... i have seen that kind of blood on the streets ... your poem is wonderful ... your social conscience vividly proclaimed .. so very true ... they are the living dead and bleeding ... whole cultures within our own in cycles of self destruction ... take a pick ..choose a spot ..make a difference .... perhaps as collectively we can make a positive change ..
E.

[Kristina Moulaison]

Weird that I haven't reviewed this on here. It's one of my favorites. So wise and true! This should be published somewhere so more people can read it.

[LittleMancunian]

Wow that was deep!
I avoid the news because it's always about negative things and you just summed it up in a poem!

[Emily B]

atrocities every where you look, but only certain ones make the news at six and eleven

step right up, ladies and gentleman, see if you can guess where the real news is hiding

[Katherine]

This was brilliant. In all honesty, it really is. You managed to capture the horrors of the media and of society in this age.
The last two stanzas of your poem really had me thinking, and this cut deep into me because I realized how true this is, and how much it was needed to be put into words. This is a brilliant piece of work, I haven't seen much better than this even in professional work.

[Creepy Swine Guy]

Thank you ma'am, for so kind a response.