Thoreau announced to all the world
That it takes just one person
To change one’s entire society,
To make it improve or worsen.
David fought against all odds
To take Goliath down,
And people like Lincoln and Rosa Parks
Certainly deserve their renown.
It’s easy to be a hero,
Or so they would have us think
But tell people to take on the whole wide world
And all of a sudden they start to shrink.
Sure, they have strong opinions
And they know what they’d like to see changed.
They’d be willing to try it, if only they knew
They wouldn’t have to feel so estranged.
Arguing with the world is tedious:
Fighting endless adversaries on your own
Is certainly still worth the trouble
If only you weren’t so alone.
So go on, try, launch some pebbles at giants
Or see if you’ll make ripples or waves.
Will you try? I doubt it. Few people would.
To society, we are all slaves.
Author notes
My actual views on the whole individual against society matter are not really as pessimistic as this poem...
Prompts: Freedom, Individual vs. Society
A contest entry
- plight of the individual by unraveled.
2000 points, ended July 19, 2008, 24 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - F is for... by Pandorea.
700 points, ended July 17, 2008, 21 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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nice. i really love the last stanza, it's quite powerful/captures the whole feeling of your piece.
thanks for entering. -
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Thank you for the comment and for hosting this contest!
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i asked for free verse or prose, this is rhyme, so it's not what i was looking for. you have a lot of important points here, but they could have been expressed in a different and more artistic tone. i feel like it loses its strength because of the rhyme and sing-song feeling. the best stanza is the last one: it has more meaning and metaphor than the rest.
thank you for the entry,
-cassidy
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Oh ok thanks. Sorry about that! Thanks for hosting the contest.
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I really like this piece. You can feel so alone when you take on any challenge that makes a difference for the good. I especially like the 5th and 6th stanzas.You have much talent for so young a writer. Keep it up, it was a blessing to read. FAH
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Thank you! I'm glad you like it.
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