Truth Kills Kings
“Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgotten wounds. It is the mother of the sleepless night and the hag-ridden day. And yet there is one thing that is more dangerous than Truth. Those who would silence Truth’s voice are more destructive by far.
It is most perilous to be a speaker of Truth. Sometimes one must choose to be silent, or be silenced. But if a truth cannot be spoken, it must at least be known. Even if you dare not speak truth to others, never lie to yourself.”
~ Frances Hardinge, Fly by Night
Dedicated to Ashraf Fayyad, poet in Saudi Arabia who is being condemned to death. Mohammed Harbi in Egypt who is making a collection of poems as part of the campaign “Save A poet With a poem” – this is my contribution…
Truth Kills Kings
More powerful than the sword, the truth kills kings,
Who seek to silence it, spill the inkwell dry,
Kill the poet who writes of the ugliness:
Refuses to write of beauty of flowers:
Sheds no blood but his own in his one man war.
Tyranny comes from fear: let us be feared
Not by children in schools who read our writing
For words are not bombs that rain death from the sky
But an eruption of ideas for the minds
That seeks the truth in darkened rooms and nations
That’s spoken truest by those who died for speaking.
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