The pen is mightier than the sword
Or so they say, it’s what I heard
But maybe the saying
Needs updating –
It’s not pens, anymore
It’s keyboards
And viral videos
The power of those
Is hard to measure
Which is probably why we treasure
The hit-counts and followers
Impressive influencers
Who can shape the world with their words
Especially the ones who do it well
Who know what to say
And how to tell
It in a way that makes us feel it
Their words compel –
And this is how ideas sell.
The idea doesn’t even have to make sense
If you can say it well with eloquence
If it sounds compelling
Then there’s no telling
What your words can do
But – is it just a feeling you’re conveying
With the power of the words you’re saying
Or is it built on something that is true?
What if the truth is more complex
Then the catchy slogans that fit best
In posters and tweets?
What if our simplicity defeats
Our own progress
And lets
Our feelings, moving with the wind
Rule and reign the world we’re in?
No wonder this place is a roller-coaster
When every talented video-hoster
Can move the foundations of timeless truth
With a slight of hand and a verbal proof
Never mind the resulting disaster
We’ll shift the narrative even faster
We’ll find and condemn the ones who fuss
The ones who try to remind us
That truth just doesn’t work like this
That stubborn reality
Is not a democracy
That real things stay real
No matter how we may feel
I mean, talk about boring
It’s more entertaining
To make up our own thing
It’s new and exciting
The rush of power
Is so inviting
But our power is lying
Truth cannot be destroyed
Even when it’s in hiding
Right now, I know, it can be hard to tell
When the lies are presented so very well
Sometimes the truth seems so absurd
Compared to the beautiful lies we’ve heard
But underneath the flood and fury
Sits a solid judge and jury
Each fad and phase, just like a wave, is
Tossed up high before it breaks
And yet – it breaks –
Shifting water, for a minute
Covers up the rocks beneath it
But reality will stay
Long after the tide has come
And gone away
Please, my friends, don’t build a boat
That you can use to merely float
On every wave that comes along –
Beautiful words can still be wrong
And if they are, it won’t be long
Before they crash against the rocks
Of truth forgotten, and almost lost
But truth is never lost.
sethlewis.ie 