At the Poetry Reading

I meet her in a bar where poets read.
She is applauded by her acolytes
who clap with fervour after she recites
her paeans to her strong politic creed.

I offer her a drink. She says, “No need.
It’s poetry and truth are my delights.”
She tells me my concern for human rights
is just a ploy. “Your aim is to mislead.”

“I know what I know,” she says, “and what I know
is true, immutable, endorsed by God.
He teaches me what I must love and hate.

You may protest, argue, debate, say no;
but your objections are not merely odd,
they are projections of the false, deep state.”  


Conor Kelly

If you have any thoughts about this poem,  Conor Kelly would be pleased to hear them