by Louis Faber

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Look at this picture carefully.

They fill the streets, singing

carrying signs, demanding freedom

and the end to the callous oppression

unleashed by an unrestrained government.

They are met by a wall of men

in dark uniforms, armed, nameless, 

wearing balaclavas to hide their faces,

always angry and relentless. 

There are clouds of tear gas, 

retorts of weapons, metal on skull.

Now ask yourself is this Tehran,

Isfahan or Tabriz, or is this 

Minneapolis or Chicago, and how

without looking at the shrouded signs

would you know the difference?

You know it should not matter, for wrong

is wrong, evil is evil, hate is hate. 

Will you speak out or will you

remain silent if it is there and not

here where you could be next?

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© Louis Faber

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Louis Faber (he/him) is a poet and writer. His work has appeared in MacGuffin, Cantos, The Amazine,  Alchemy Spoon (UK), Meniscus and Arena Magazine (Australia) New Feathers Anthology, Dreich (Scotland), Prosetrics, Atlanta Review, Glimpse, Rattle, Pearl, and The South Carolina Review, among many others, and has been twice nominated for both a Pushcart Prize and a Best of the Net.

Find out more on anoldwriter.com or Bluesky @anoldwriter.bsky.social.

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