social commentary
There's a rich history of poetry serving as social commentary, intended to inspire calls to action.
The Silence of the Flies
"I looked up at the top of my old bookshelves. There, dusty and unread for years, were all the animal books of my childhood. I'd love these books. They were rich with wildness, escape and adventure. But I hated them too. Because the never had happy endings. Tarka the otter was killed by hounds. The falcons died of pesticide poisoning. A man with a spade beat to death the otter in Ring of Bright Water, vultures tore out the Red Pony's eyes. The deer in The Yearling was shot, the dog in Old Yeller died. So did the spider in Charlotte's Web and my favorite rabbit in Watership Down. I remember that awful dread as the number of pages shrank in each new animal book I read. I knew what would happen. And it happen every time." - Excerpt from H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
By Samantha Sing7 years ago in Poets
