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The Dark Receiver

A Cautionary, Ekphrastic Sonnet

By D. J. ReddallPublished 5 months ago 1 min read
"The Enigma of Hitler" by Salvador Dali, 1939

An iniquitous incubus has called

Many thought him slain and buried deep

A world entire his vile deeds appalled

Into fresh ears his madness seeks to creep

Eco studied fascism and warned us

To be on guard against its contagion

Lies designed to rouse the populous

Exploiting rage and ugly frustration

The smoke of war does make its laughter reek

It writhes, with petty grievances seething

Stultifying are its slogans--Newspeak

Is its language; it talks of blood, breeding

The dark receiver waits to be lifted

Far from truth and goodness have we drifted

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The eminent Italian novelist and semiotician, Umberto Eco, composed an essay entitled "Fourteen Ways of Looking at A Blackshirt" that included this invaluable list of fourteen symptoms of incipient fascism:

Ekphrastic

About the Creator

D. J. Reddall

I write because my time is limited and my imagination is not.

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Reader insights

Nice work

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

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Comments (5)

  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran5 months ago

    "The smoke of war does make its laughter reek" I especially loved this line! Your poem was very dark and poignant!

  • Rachel Deeming5 months ago

    Dark days. Always possible.

  • Brin J.5 months ago

    Ooooo. I liked this. It gives an Edgar Allan Poe vibe.

  • Hannah Moore5 months ago

    Thank you for the link. The poem feels horribly ominous, but then so does the world.

  • Randy Baker5 months ago

    The poem suits the image so well. Very creative eye and pen (or keyboard)!

D. J. ReddallWritten by D. J. Reddall

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