i am a slave

By Jonas

i am the servile class
i am a slave
i make the necessities of living
of which i am stripped and given a wage

i am a villain
i am a theif
i am a serf and a peasant
feeding the lord at the tip of his sword
tied to his fief
and if i open my eyes
and if i Twist my tongue
if i demand more
and am defeated
then death is relief
=
stand with me
o my sisters and brothers
deliver me or die with me too

one is not many
two cannot hope to do
let us all raise our voices together
let the many rise
let us destroy the priviledged few

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.

Published on Friday, January 6, 2006. Filed under: "Political" and "Poetry"

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May 13th, 2015

Comments on "i am a slave"

On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, Winter Born (169) wrote:

Very good write Jonas. Cuts deep and leaves an indelible mark. Though I am confused by the ending... Is that a call to war I read?
On Thursday, May 7, 2009, Jonas (720) wrote:

no, specifically a call to a general strike. it's a form of resistance that is more extreme in power than the threat of men bringing death... the difficulty in accomplishing it however is the difficulty of achieving solidarity and the will for the oppressed to act through the fear imposed by the violence of men with guns that take their orders blindly from a superior and act to defend not the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness but the property rights of the privileged few. further, if i look at the methods of destroying the privileged few i arrive at two simple conclusions, 1) kill them to take away their privileges and redistribute them or 2) take away their privileges and redistribute them through the power of overwhelming community sentiment. the first way is the easy way. the way of wars, guns and military. the second way is the way of social reform. that's why the last lines of the poem are not: 'lets us raise our guns together... etc...' but, 'let us raise our voices...'. this is why i find it important to audibly condemn the choice of the life of a soldier. i use my voice to fight for what i believe in. remember kent state. remember jackson state.
On Friday, May 8, 2009, Winter Born (169) wrote:

very elegant. I am sorry but I cannot wrap my mind around the "audibly condemn the life of a soldier" bit. But a war where no one gets hurt... that I can believe in. Even if you would rather blind yourself to the fact that a war of words is still... a war.
On Saturday, May 9, 2009, Jonas (720) wrote:

you weary me. merriam-webster's definition of war: 1 a (1): a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations (2): a period of such armed conflict (3): state of war b: the art or science of warfare c (1)obsolete : weapons and equipment for war (2)archaic : soldiers armed and equipped for war2 a: a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism b: a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end c: variance, odds 3 — war·less Listen to the pronunciation of warless \-ləs\ adjective . so yes, many conflicts can be classified as war. i wonder if you are being stubborn or stupid, but either way i will clarify. I DON'T LIKE THAT YOU KILL PEOPLE. MY MORAL OPPOSITION TO WAR AND OUR ENTIRE DEBATE HAS BEEN CENTERED AROUND THE AMORALITY OF ARMED CONFLICT AND THE DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIFE. so, according to merriam-webster, online, you can define you sending your children to their room and them not wanting to go as a war between you and your kids. however, most intelligent people would not do so, they'd reserve terms like 'variance' and 'odds' for those situations and then use words like war for the situations for which they are generally
On Saturday, May 9, 2009, Jonas (720) wrote:

used. jesus h. christ!
On Saturday, May 9, 2009, Jonas (720) wrote:

audibly: 'out loud' condemn: 'to declare to be reprehensible' the life of a soldier: 'killing things'. there now you can put a bow on it.
On Friday, May 8, 2009, carlosjackal (3015) wrote:

Ah, I think what Jonas means is that no man, woman, boy or girl should have to choose to fight in a military war or be forced to for that matter.
On Monday, May 11, 2009, Winter Born (169) wrote:

would that not be a wonderful utopia?
A former member wrote: Revolution!! yes a spectre is haunting us... the spectre of the priviledged few... the battle cry is sounded, it is time to unite... (are there any unions left?)
On Saturday, April 29, 2006, CharlottesWeb (511) wrote:

Spiriting to say the least. Rousing in a william Wallace kinda way. I'd love to hear you recite this in person.
On Friday, February 17, 2006, Liz (267) wrote:

its evolution, baby.
A former member wrote: ehe..eheh..ehehehe.,..Jonas don't tempt me right now unlessd you're prepared to hand me a loaded weapon ;)
On Thursday, January 19, 2006, urbanhumility (1175) wrote:

where do i sign.............? wait i think i'm in "few" fuck it! sign me up anyway!!!
A former member wrote: "feeding the lord at the tip of his sword" This has a viking feel to it, like warriors singing to Valhalla, in a charge & spur for glory, or more... and yet feels more like a shade, a shadow of the thief. We are all slaves. Nicely done.
On Saturday, January 7, 2006, KittyStryker (711) wrote:

This is fantastic... there's a Marge Piercy poem I should send you sometime- this reminds me of it.
On Saturday, January 7, 2006, birdwell (140) wrote:

...but being a slave is so easy, and i...uhh, ohhh hell, fuck it i'm with you ;) ~db~
A former member wrote: servitude renders us useless but for the services we offer under the heel of federal wages. peace is an illusion in that we are in a perpetual state of warfare; financial, economic, educational and societal warfare.
A former member wrote: the golabl stage is rapidly being set for a period of revolutionary upheaval. well said.
On Sunday, January 8, 2006, Jonas (720) wrote:

amen.
A former member wrote: ah, but even when the masses rise, there's always those appeased by tokens, and then the masses return to their ignorant corners, happy to scratch in the dirt as long as they can scratch with shiny things..
A former member wrote: and why the hell aren't the rest of the poems you posted yesterday commented upon? buncha lackadaisical lackwits ;p
On Friday, January 6, 2006, elisa (1616) wrote:

it's good to know that others share my focus in life........if i accomplish nothing else in life .....i will leave a dent in the highbrow of the elite.....
On Friday, January 6, 2006, AHHH (187) wrote:

very nice.

i am a slave

By Jonas

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