Living In Fear
The barbarians are at the gates! Oh dear. Oh me. Oh my. What should we do? Please tell us!
in tribute to Cavafy. Read his original here.
My phone tells me
war has been declared
and some even
purport to know why.
Certainly, the news
goes down well with
our Coca-Cola.
People are quietly whispering
in well-lit nightclubs.
People are hiding in their kitchens
behind 5-course meals.
Crowds are gathering hoping to see
what the war is really all about.
The newsmen blare.
The barbarians are coming!
There is something funny about the soup.
Was that the barbarians, poisoning our wells?
Didn’t I see that guy before?
Is he a barbarian?
Who didn’t cut their lawns this week?
The barbarians are at the gates, you know.
We have to be prepared and keep things in order.
There is a war across the ocean.
We are swimming in news and bobbles of truth.
No one is safe!
Hurry up - go shopping! - Before the world ends.
My oh my! There is so much to do
and not to do
now that the barbarians are at the gates.
What a solution!
We’ll miss them when they are gone.
Living in fear is just another way of dying before your time.