he should never have been allowed to rise again.
And yet we, as a supposed decent people, have failed again — unimaginably!
The war to dismantle America began without a single shot — and we’re losing.
Original DDE™ surrealistic art: “Cruel Sun” by: rob kistner © 2/15/24
Vivid
in this waking dream
this nightmare
I see shapes of faces
scabbed unsmiling lips
their void curve
denounce this time
they’re escaping the scald
fleeing the cruel sun
as fate is dancin’
broken in the moonlight
the victimized
yet unseen
blackened and charred
by the agenda
of this abomination
this cruel sun
they bemoan
their soul’s duality
realizing
the divergent reality
through which
their truth
stumbles blind
to move in the world
rough as a rope
taut as every false promise made
frayed as feigned wisdom
leaned in
whispered from behind
obscured by the backhand
I reach
to grab at time
like dropped money
ever more precious
doing so
I feel the shiver
the sad imbalance
it’s a confliction
in the omnisoul
in my soul
so
I’ll practice non-attachment
because I can
knowing
I must
in this time
and observe
the lonely lost
who’ve trapped their truth
in dreams
locked in a wired cage
Original DDE™ surrealistic art: “Caged Dreams”
by: rob kistner © 2/15/24
wholly removed
indifferent
but still
pieces of me
of my sorrow
stick to them
to whomever
gets too close
you may have seen me
sobbing
silhouetted against the sky
that coldest night in November
cowering
under the frozen moon
then that moon and I
sought to escape
running down corridors of time
from genuine memory
through illusion
hiding from the devious
cruel sun
the whole world
close enough to touch
yet distant
distracted
past false truth
past illusion
past hypocrisy
past monomaniacal delusion
heaped and layered
thick and deep
oh please
peel back
these poisoned layers
peel them away
to clear the way
for a clean
quivering soul
uncertain
but imbued with
curiosity for possibility
because these stale
cutting thoughts
infect my thoughts
making them too pressing
too heavy to hold
or chew
or swallow
or lug
in this massive bag
of regret
my thoughts
my madness
spawned in the bone-white lies
of morality plays
immorality plays
mortality plays
I will play a dirge
sing a bittersweet song
as we come together
as we join
to peel back
all these noxious layers
these brackish
thought
layers
held fast and firm
by this oppressive
cruel sun
Original DDE™ surrealistic art: “Oh Horrors”
by: rob kistner © 11/8/24
seared into my soul
by that caustic smile
that baboonish grin
that devious faux smile
that sours to bitter
in the brittle grey
that settles
like a shroud
through the overcast
in these dark days
a brandished
weaponized smile
a lethal smile
his radar eyes
scan the forgotten creases
and clandestine getaways
in our minds
squelching our truth
standing over
he looks down
icy eye’d
he sees my scabbed lips
cracked and dry
“cruel sun gotcha”
he smirks
with lethal contempt
let us all cry out
“no more”
let us rip away
this venom
this lethal virus
this heartless evil
so that a new dawn
a new sun will rise
spread its light
and warm our hearts
with the radiance of rebirth
let enlightenment rain
let love pour down
drown this cruel sun
and rekindle the flame of hope
or perhaps a brave savior
wielding the lightning
to solve this blight
Original DDE™ surrealistic art: “Flame of Hope”
by: rob kistner © 2/15/24
*
rob kistner © 2021-2024
Poetry at: dVerse
A dramatic shift in how conflicts now unfold has successfully occurred. Rather than relying on traditional military might, nations and groups now effectively leverage the power of information, ideas, and technology to shape public opinion, influence political outcomes, and create division. This type of conflict—often described as “information warfare”—involves the strategic use of propaganda, misinformation, and blatant lies, supported by clever cyber tactics to undermine traditionally strong societies from within.
In an interconnected world where people get their information online, the battle for hearts and minds now takes place in virtual spaces. Cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns, and the manipulation of social media to stir mistrust and dread, while disrupting economies, weakening trust in institutions, and sowing discord among citizens. These tools are as powerful as, if not more so than, physical weapons, especially when they influence the very fabric of a society’s beliefs and values. World War III is upon us, being waged with weapons more devious and destructive than military. WAKE UP!