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Societal Corruption
A river of thought
The flowing of dreams
The facts eat the fiction
Until the water is ‘clean’
But the chaos of nature-
It isn’t chaos, really-
Takes over again
Once more, the river runs sweetly
In the corner of the eye
Appears a strange sight
Invasive species
Float in from the night
A dark network of terror
Takes over the seas
And has come to the river
In no rush to please
The new king is cruel
The new queen is mean
The guards are all rude
And what they talk of is obscene
But the rebellion is strong
And not with the Force
They never give up
And are very down-to-earth
The rebellion gathers people
They gather warriors, too
And soon they are ready
For a military coup
They start with a siege
Then take out the battlements
In the blink of an eye
The king is marked absent
The queen claims she doesn’t know
The dukes and earls the same
But the guards shed some info
The duchess is to blame
She hated the evil king
And his horrid court
So she killed the ruler
It was the last resort
When the body was found
The cheers erupted
“The river is freed!”
Everyone shouted
For the first time in years
The water wasn’t clean
But it wasn’t dark either-
Just fresh and serene
The fish swam freely
The fiction thrived
And the river of thought
Really was alive
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This poem is any English teacher’s favorite type: it is chock-full of symbolism. If you think about it, the river of thought are the thoughts of a child growing up. When this child is corrupted by society (hate, greed, envy) a dark, mysterious force takes over the river. But during this time, a rebellion is plotting in the unconscious mind. The final blow is not struck by the rebellion- someone from the inside (a loving adult, teacher, relative) shows the child that the whole world isn’t dark, scary, and mean. This person defeats the evil court of the river of thought and the river becomes itself again, except more aware of the world around it. The child can still dream and imagine, but it now knows that there is a world out there, waiting for him/her, waiting for someone to change it.