This Poem Is Banned
​
by Bruce Mcrae
​
​​For saying what needed to be said
when nobody wanted to hear it.
For telling stories out of school,
naming the names, pointing the fingers.
This poem has been banned because
powerful people were made to feel uncomfortable.
Banned for eschewing protocol.
Because someone important insisted.


While reading this poem
you might conclude it’s right
that you act and think for yourself.
Having this poem in your house
suggests you may be harbouring certain leanings
others would consider unacceptable.
You don’t want soldiers kicking in your door
over a silly poem. Do you?
You don’t need a veil of threats
or your mouth smashed in with a rifle butt.
Be reasonable…


Because this poem is strictly forbidden,
like counterfeit currency or certain truths.
It might instigate a rebellion
or a national debate. There may be
peaceful protests, which lead to
(very possibly) rioting.
Reading this poem is strictly prohibited,
every other word blacked out,
its author lying low while on the lam.
Shadowy figures from shadowy agencies
are standing over you, declaring:
"This poem is taboo."
Little outlaw, this poem is contraband.
I didn’t write it. But whoever wrote it,
I wrote it for you.

​

Bruce McRae, a Canadian musician currently residing on Salt Spring Island BC, is a Pushcart nominee with over a thousand poems published internationally in magazines such as Poetry, Rattle and the North American Review. His books are ‘The So-Called Sonnets (Silenced Press), ‘An Unbecoming Fit Of Frenzy’ (Cawing Crow Press) and ‘Like As If” (Pskis Porch), all also available via Amazon. His video-and-music poems can be viewed on YouTube’s ‘BruceMcRaePoetry’, or the Facebook page for ‘Thee Caretakers’.