Evil Hides

A sociopolitical discourse on evil, perhaps

 

Evil Hides

 

Evil hides its face

dormant in our cells,

a cancer of thought

waiting for the moment

when every wrong and hurt

of one lifetime twists logic to shreds,

when blackness spews forth

in explosions of revenge,

volcanic ash resentments

pulverizing each human form

unfortunate to share its path.

 

We call this darkness evil,

its source unknown as lives tortured

behind closed dwelling doors,

unknown as scorn,

as ceaseless isolation in a crowded school,

unknown as minds demented with disease,

shuttered by faceless voices

of rage and false logic

which rend the mind.

 

We won’t face evil

in swank insurance board rooms,

dividends paid out handsomely,

treatment days closely guarded.

We won’t face it still

in classrooms of 35 five-year-olds

or when anyone of us turns his back

with compassion fatigue

or open disgust

at insecure bullies and timid victims

peopling our hallways and walkways.

We’re blind to evil passed down

as the secret to life

like a bottle of finely aged whisky,

or kept away like housing projects

in places we won’t stray near as a bullet.

 

We believe in secret causes

and plausible deniability,

bad seeds and bad blood incurable,

locked away from we innocents

and marked like Cain forever.

Public myopia and short memories

paint our glasses rose,

our rigid arms and fingers

arrowed in accusation.

 

 

 

Reviews

[Tessa]

Your writing is suberb, as always. It is is perceptive, interesting first two lines which raises alot of compelling questions,
Evil hides its face
dormant in our cells,
I liked your treatment of the issue, avoiding cliches and generalisations. The concept of 'evil' is such a dense one, and you've contextualised it well here,
We won�t face evil
in swank insurance board rooms,
This idea of 'we won't face evil' is a complex one...I think I need to think about it for a while...Your last line pinpoints the accusation circulating amongst the media and the public. Intelligent writing.
We won't face evil.... my mind twists with this one...

[Torre]

Good job. As the bible says the devil was thrown down to dwell on earth. Evil is everywhere everyday, but so is good. It is a lot easier for people to be evil and spew hatred than it is for people to hold their tounges and be peaceful.

[Ron Cole]

Excellent write, David, and obviously written with much expertise! We are all devastated by the violence at Va, and at such senseless tragic loss! At times like these, we all struggle to understand evil (to no avail). I am an expert with weapons, and no stranger to violence, but, am absolutely overwhelmed at the senseless acts of a sick mind like the nation has just witnessed!

[Krystal Waters]

Hi David, really to the point and interesting. Your views on the view, after a week about. What happened is so terrible that to have it on the news, breaking news, news conventions, news going into classrooms, classes stopped just to talk about the shooting... Basically what people are doing is making the shooter infameous! The people killed will be forgotton but their blood will be remembered...

Thanks David... you put your thoughts out there.

[C. Harter Amos]

This was really an intense and good read. I liked the picture reference to 'see-hear-speak' no evil by the title, and you telling us we tend most often not to see-hear-speak OF evil. We're too often complacent, a myopic public with short memories that finds it easier to hand out insurance checks and point the finger at others than to cope with the causes. You tell us this without holding back on the punches. Particularly liked the phrasing of "Evil hides its face dormant in our cells, a cancer of thought" and "We're blind to evil passed down as the secret of life...kept away like housing projects in places we won't stray..." Another strong piece and thought provoking. Thanks. - Mimi.

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I liked this David. Thought maybe it would be good in essay form as well. ~CB