social commentary

There's a rich history of poetry serving as social commentary, intended to inspire calls to action.

Dying By Pieces
Dying By Pieces We are all dying. Not the way we expected This is slow, not a short death like At night in your bed
By Alice Donenfeld-Vernoux5 years ago in Poets
The Shadow On the Throne
All that's thought and all that's seen May in the end conceal deceits, And victory's a shallow thought When villainy evades defeats.
By Drew Dunlop5 years ago in Poets
You Can't Eat the Praise
So often the expectations of society eat the true expectations of the artist’s heart. Yes, I can stuff that knickknack full of
By Steve B Howard5 years ago in Poets
Why Do I Watch It
It’s only a face plastered across the screen. Does the face change when it’s eight years old, from southern Afghanistan, with lethal
By Steve B Howard5 years ago in Poets
Unique'ty
Is it DNA, that exists so deep within a cell; Defining me, so, so much apart from another living soul? A colorful, connected spiral combining to make all whole;
By Graham Cooke5 years ago in Poets
When We Lose An Elephant (One 0f Ours)...
...We trumpet a sad, angry and drastic grievance song for hours. We cry towards the sky in desperate tones, after gathering at dawn, with insane fluids leaking from our faces... We are crushed, but not defeated.
By Jah-Ví da Poet 5 years ago in Poets
Friends
Now in my life I am lucky to have a terrific and supportive network of friends, but that has not always been the case. When I was younger, a lot of my friendships were based on competition, jealousy, and insecurity. As you can imagine, that does not lead to healthy relationships. But it does occasionally lead to verse.
By Crysta Coburn5 years ago in Poets
Flogging Your Futile Word
They are there. Or at the least the pain is. The fuel in your chest and head, that incombustible mass of inert angst begging
By Steve B Howard5 years ago in Poets
Good Intentions
A year within the crucible That rests in rage and war, The year was irreducible, Like all that came before. Buoyed on the wings of triumph, be;
By Drew Dunlop5 years ago in Poets
Are You Better Than Me?
Are you better than me? Please tell me, I want to know. Education: Me, college educated, living for the future. You, high school drop out, living day by day.
By Robby Robb Lewis5 years ago in Poets
Hope in Humanity
I have hope in humanity. To believe in the best We all have within ourselves. My hope diminishes. As I open the door and see,
By Owen Nicholls5 years ago in Poets
Around the corner
We never know, what’s around the corner, Or control the past, can we reorder, The only thing, that we can do, Is focus on now, and just be you,
By Alan Firmin5 years ago in Poets