Lay the blame …

To say that someone or something deserves to be considered responsible for something that has happened.

Lay the blame …

Faulty incomprehensible cladding

Engulfed by death's dark mask

Bedecks a gregarious culture

Where questions went unasked

Uncaring convalescent hostels

Deemed safe for vulnerable kin

Exposed as opprobrious hellholes

After decades of soundless sins

Those children's sacred sanctuaries

With whitewashed walls now stained

By historical abusive allegations

From victims who suffered in vain

Gangs of under age youngsters

Roaming feral in our unlit streets

Defending turfs with drawn-out blades

Waving rhythmically to bogus beats

Underpaid public sector heroes

Risking daily both life and limbs

Praised by high salaried politicians

But rewarded with platitudinous hymns

In our cavernous world of disorder

Full of contorted authoritative shame

There is never a definitive answer

Of where to lay the blame …

Phillozofee @ 2017

Reviews

[barleygirl]

This is brilliantly crafted in rhyme, rhythm, & word choice. It's not often that we can get away with using so many ten-dollar words without a piece starting to sound stilted or just stiff. It's rare for a poet to select so many ten-dollar words & still holding to an excellent rhythm thru-out (except I would delete the word "them" last line of stanza4). It's mind-stimulating to combine all this amazing word crafting with a message and a meaning that really matters. I love it when writers express a distinct point of view.

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Thank you - & - see what you mean in stanza 4 - will take up the edit! :-)

[Ethan]

Hey this poem is awesome. There are so many things I like about it. The verb tenses all make sense except for the very beginning. You've got "engulfed" in past (though this is referring to a previous event), "bedecks" in present tense, and then "went unasked" in past. It's weird having something in the present affecting things in the past. I might make them all the same tense. Other than that minor detail, amazing work.

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Good observation Ethan - the mixing of tenses is a deliberate attempt to show these events as not effected by time but rather by past current and probably future mindsets - radical changes need to take place! Thanks for the review ..

[Carol Cashes]

Wow. First of all, I used to think I was pretty smart, but had to look up several words. You have pinned down the blame pretty good if you ask me: it lies with us all. This is a damning commentary on our current sad state of affairs. Hear! Hear!

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Thank you Carol - a most humbling review! :-)