Defaced Deceptions

[corvid_conquest]

Paper promises are worthless;
They're dry and dull,
Vouchers vanquished with ease.
Worn out, or wasted, or watered down;
They scorch, or shatter, or
Are stolen with quick hands.
They shackle, and fetter in, and narrow
Bounds to a monolithic horde of corpses.

They signify nothing to my Lord,
Who values only virtue —
Compassion spreading through action.
His currency is time, a loan
Given to all the living;
Employ these talents; enrich the Earth
With true profits.

Comments

[lhexan]

This is another solid poem whose content inspires unease.

Paper promises are worthless, vanquished with ease -- but they shackle and fetter? In this poem, I feel like it's the octave that ties down the glowing sestet (oh, wait, it's a septet, neat), despite how much I like the octave's alliterative play.

[corvid_conquest]

Oh, the shackles and fetters are purely mental, or spiritual potentially, so it makes sense if we consider the ease of their physical destruction. Also, the title was also a reference to the Cynic anecdote of Diogenes defacing the currency.

P.S. A lot of my focus recently has been on the ways governments enforce slavery via monetary policy, and considering methods of circumventing these chains. It is natural that my recent poems would cover this topic.