Oh why do they not hear my cries?! This is engineered division! Am I something they despise? Alas they won’t open their eyes to all the evil precision! Oh why do they not hear my cries?! I know I’m right, yet they chastise and truth thus suffers excision! Am I something they despise? Awaken, now! or we’ll demise to what tyrants now envision! Oh why do they not hear my cries?! Louder! Louder! Still I advise, still they ignore my provision! Am I something they despise? Yet it is freedom I reprise, demanding a peaceful vision! Oh why do they not hear my cries?! Am I something they despise?
Am I Something They Despise? - A Poem by Tom Shaw
Music: ROZKOL - Split It Apart
Here’s a villanelle that I wrote a little while back when I was reflecting on the kind of discourse that can emerge in any activist movement, which I hope can help us all to examine in our own lives whether we are truly meeting others where they are at, or whether' we’re being driven by an ego with a need to be seen and heard.
It’s one of the poems I’ve included in my latest book, which I’m excited to share with you all today! It’s called “From A Dying Empire Near You” and contains over 25 poems exploring the state of decay that many “advanced” nations seem to find themselves in.
A Follow-Up To “Born Anew”
My first book was a compilation of many poems I written in the year prior to that book’s release, combined with a few extra additions befitting of the narrative that was forming in the book.
But I still had (and still have!) an archive of ideas and poems that I continued to work on immediately after the book’s release, as well as continuing to write new material entirely. It was clear that the themes I had begun to explore in “Born Anew and Other Poems” hadn’t quite finished with me. And so, I began to compile a follow-up, further expanding on some of the same ideas and narratives that I explored in that first book.
Of the poems included in this latest book, some may be familiar to fans of the Substack, and some are entirely new. I love being able to have my poems in a physical form that allows people to experience these poems away from the digital realm. And, they’re also great ways to get collections of my poems to people who aren’t big on Substacks and email newsletters.
Release Date
The book will be releasing… today!
And, as an additional thank-you to all those who buy a copy early, I’ll be giving away a free 1-month complementary paid subscription for my Substack with every purchase of the physical edition. This gives you access to all sorts of things, like exclusive articles and write-ups, monthly Zoom gatherings and more. This will be available up until July 1st, so if you’ve been considering getting some of my work for a while, now would be a great time to do so!
Use the button below to head over to the page on my website where you can pick up a copy. It’s available both digitally and physically with shipping available to most places in the world:
A(Live) From A Dying Empire Near You
I’m super keen to be able to do some live, in-person readings from the book (and of other poems!) at a venue near you. As I’ve really experienced first-hand over the past few months, there’s something very special about live readings that really brings the written words to life. Whether you are linked in with local poetry nights where you live that would be welcome to me, or you and a few of your friends want me around a pub table or somewhere private to do some readings, I’m interested. Use the button below to get in contact with me below:
And Finally…
Thank you so much for all the support you give by reading and sharing my works. I can only keep doing this because of your generosity. If you know someone else who you think would enjoy my works, consider sharing this piece or one of my other poems with them.
With gratitude,
Tom