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J. W. Murphy

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The Tension Builds
by J. W. Murphy → (All Poetry by J. W. Murphy)
   Rated "PG" by the Author.
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*Feb. 8, 2004, Glen Ellen, CA.


In stagnating, building tension
The masses wade,
Sifting through the refuse
That political posturing projects
As the media mixes and broadcasts--
The messages packaged in minute spots,
Packaged and delivered with devisive intent
As if telling the public what to think
And defuse their devisive intent on political heads--
After all, scandal sells, and, so too, inference--
That device employed to hold the public's attention.
Were it better that the mis-informed masses
Could, or would, get their news from the original sources
But active society puts a stone in the road,
Too busy to read and research what's really going on,
For it is much easier to watch the evening news
Than to sift through many laws and opposing commentaries.

Meanwhile, in stagnation, the tension builds
As the masses wade,
Sifting through the refuse
That political posturing projects
As media mix and broadcast--
The messages packaged in minute spots,
Layered between advertisements for everything from toothbrushes to pickup trucks--
After all, it's incessant capitalism that keeps government running,
All those taxes on those toothbrushes and trucks financing the public trust--
government in all of its glory spending the public's money
And, if the economy's bad, well, then there's just no money,
While taxes are still extracted and benefits start being retracted
And somewhere down the road the future cries out in diminished importance.
The educational opportunities of its future leaders diminished
While present leaders ignore the future, sitting on padded cushions, perhaps behind closed doors--
All this while our youth are educated by TV--
learning how to save our economy by buying all the stuff in those advertisements.

Yet, in stagnation, the tension builds,
The masses wade,
Sifting through the refuse
That political posturing projects
As media mix and broadcast--
The messages packaged in minute spots,
And the masses grow apathetic to constant agitation between the parties,
Some are resigned not to care who gets elected,
After all, some would say, They're all crooked, anyway.
The media seems to believe this too by bringing up dirt on everyone,
The key to election or resolution comes by covering, shredding, or erasing the proof,
And the definitions of allegations and convictions are lost in the mix--
The confusion further divides the masses along party lines,
Finally, and eventually, spilling into civil unrest and possible strife--
Individuals fined, imprisoned, possibly beaten or shot at rallies and protests--
All funded by the tax money they are forced to yeild while buying life's necessities,
The sociological, mental, or physical scars heal in time,
The tension released or diffused is waiting to build again.

Still, yet, in stagnating, building tension,
The masses wade,
Sifting through the refuse
That political posturing projects
And the media mixes and broadcasts,
The messages packaged in minute spots.


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 Reviews of "The Tension Builds"
Reviewed by jude forese
Reviewed on March 6, 2004
your succeeded in creating a mood of tension in this poem through its powerful imagery ...

Reviewed by Tinka Boukes
Reviewed on March 4, 2004
Very well written!!

love Tinka

Reviewed on March 4, 2004
Good write!

~ Sandie Angel a.k.a. May Lu ~

Reviewed by J. Murphy
Reviewed on March 4, 2004
Please note that defuse is supposed to diffuse. I tried to fix it but the text is not appearing in edit mode. J.


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