Without Poetry

Poets utter great and wise things which they do not themselves understand" – Plato

"Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful" – Rita Dove

The once-great power of poetry that many poets held are now gone entirely. It is 2120. The year where the beauty of one's words in a lyrical form have been abolished by the government. Poets' great and wise thoughts in their magnificent minds like an everlasting light have been extinguished entirely.

But how did it all happen?

Between the years 2100 to 2120, there were continuous uprisings against the government due to the political clashes between the people and the all-ruling government – the revolutionaries believed that an idealistic world without the government could happen successfully.

I remember the first uprising I witnessed which was in Piccadilly Circus in 2106. There was a never-ending stream of people of all ages who were crowded at the popular tourist attraction. Being pushed back and forth further into the bustling crowd, a line of police officers with riot shields approached the protesters, shouted at them to stand down or they would risk being arrested.

At that time, the uprisings were in full swing which had already caused the deaths of thousands – including police officers, revolutionaries and innocents – hence the heavy protection armour. The threat of arrest was empty as none of the angered revolutionaries cared if they got arrested because, if anything, it helped show their cause for change.

That was the first time I had a panic attack. The feeling of your chest tightening as though your lungs were caving inwards, leaving you breathless. My head was spinning uncontrollably as my battered white converse were frozen firmly to the ground.

What would be seen as ironic if I knew what I now know, I started reciting poetry as something for my panicked mind to focus on. Great words of poetry from classics like Plato and Romantics like William Blake flowed from my mouth seamlessly as my hands gradually stopped shaking.

If it was not for poetry, the chance of me getting out of that hostile situation with the imminent threat of arrest would have been little to none – and I would have been arrested simply for freezing up and being unable to move – seeming guilty of defying our nation.

But that comfort is now gone.

In a time of détente after several years of gruelling turmoil with the uprisings, the government were desperate to maintain peace within society. The uprisings did not end successfully for the revolutionaries and the 20 years of continuous fights against the government resulted in no positive change.

It made everything worse as the government began to launch full-scale home invasions and arrests of those suspected to be anti-government (even with little evidence). In their eyes, this was a reasonable safety net to help maintain their control and, therefore, societal stability. However, and rightly so, the people were enraged by their actions but they were soon silenced.

Those who were imprisoned never came back.

They just disappeared.

After a series of repetitive news bulletins showing multiple arrests and anti-government home invasions, the bulletins stopped.

Not because the home invasions and arrests with no evidence stopped.

But because the news agencies were banned.

It was soon after the banning of news agencies that all poetry and poets were forbidden as well. This was due to the vibrant graffiti of key poems on government property that suggested another revolution would occur with the great, wise and provoking words of poets as their inspiration.