Sound muted.
Cacophony of silence.
Words spilled on a page,
sentenced to death.
Alphabet stews
bleeding false truths.
Democracy verbified.
Present tense
slanted to the future,
diagrammatical correction needed
Guide to collective nouns.
Bloat: hippopotamuses
Murder: crows
Bed: sloths
Shiver: sharks
Scourge: mosquitoes
And
Petrified: today’s Republican Congress.
Sound muted.
Cacophony of silence.
This is the saddest story
I have ever heard.
Written for Tuesday Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today Punam provides us with a number of opening lines from various books and writings. We are to take one of the opening lines provided, and make it the closing line of our poem. We must use the line as is..no addition or subtraction of words. The line I’ve chosen to use is “This is the saddest story I have ever heard,” from The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford. Image by John from Pixabay
lillian the home poet 
The line you chose could have taken you in any direction, Lill, and I love the one you chose. A sad story indeed. I especially like ‘Alphabet stews bleeding false truths’ and ‘Present tense slanted to the future,’
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So many powerful lines, Lill and I love the word play. I am.glad your verse took a political slant because it is truly the saddest story of our times!
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alphabet stews is a powerful line
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Very nicely done, Lillian
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Both relevant and imaginatively written – I love the bloat of hippos although know that isn’t the most important point to dwell upon – but for me it made me smile amidst the picture of our world – Jae
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A sharp, rhythmic piece that carries a heavy sense of exhaustion – everyone yelling and nobody being heard – great writing Lillian 💞
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I agree they should work together or die alone. Nice job.
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Lillian, I feel your disappointment and share it. I would like to believe it is only the Republicans that are petrified (as in ossified.) Corporate Democrats are just as self-serving and spineless. I pray the Wave of Progressive, Non PAC-funded Dems tsunamis over them.
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Bam! Bang! Pow! Biff! …well conceived and executed Lill! 👊🏼👍🏼✌🏼
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A sharp and urgent opening Lil 👏 The little bits that I see on YouTube of the US government in action makes me shake my head. Almost the whole world is laughing.
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Powerful poem, Lillian. A definite “taken from the headlines”.
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