Home » Poems » L Milton Hankins » Lawlessness

Lawlessness

The time is obviously drawing near When everyone must take a stand, In fact, it is my only lingering fear Lawlessness is overtaking our land. I observe it spreading rampantly The time is obviously drawing near, News media bombards us constantly With accounts we don’t want to hear. I am afraid my conscience will sear As I hear the horrid stories too often The time is obviously drawing near, When we see the little child’s coffin. I am not one who is easily alarmed Our society must soon change gear, Clearly, forewarned is to be prepared The time is obviously drawing near. Written June 7, 2022

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Caren Krutsinger

Date: 6/9/2022 1:16:00 AM

Will this stop us? "The time is obviously drawing near, When we see the little child’s coffin." It has not stopped us yet. But I wish it would.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/9/2022 8:50:00 AM

So true. I was reading an article this morning written by a NRA member who owns an AR-15, a former policeman, and he said no civilian should have one of these guns. It is totally unwarranted, and he wants them banned and destroyed. The reason he has one is that he was assigned an AR-15 at work and so he bought one to learn more about how to use it. Good article.

Charles Reese

Date: 6/7/2022 9:10:00 PM

This is my favorite French style to write in. You only need a little inspiration. I whole heartly agree with this poem. I have often said the only thing nations as a whole seem to learn from history is that they don't learn from history. They keep making the same mistakes. A poem well done.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/8/2022 8:35:00 AM

Thanks so much, Charles. I enjoy the quatern myself. I like all of the forms that have repeating lines and try to use them when I want to emphasize a particular idea or thought. Figuring out a rhyme scheme for the quatern can be a challenge, too. I appreciate your thoughts.

Shirley Hawkins

Date: 6/7/2022 8:38:00 PM

And we call ourselves HUMAN beings!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/8/2022 8:36:00 AM

Indeed, Shirley, incredible, isn't it?

Marco Chies

Date: 6/7/2022 1:52:00 PM

Honestly, I think this is a cultural thing, which only time will be able to stop. I see that many movies show exaggerated bullying, outrageous jokes and a disconcerting lack of empathy (clearly an exaggeration of one-off situations). Probably only the intensification of an anti-prejudice policy (of any kind) will be able to make these horrible cases plummet.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/7/2022 2:12:00 PM

I agree, Marco. Unfortunately, we have a large segment of our population who are against"intensification of an anti-prejudice policy." In many cases, we have to fight to get cultural diversity programs approved in our schools. I do hope time will bring about an improvement.

Tom Cunningham

Date: 6/7/2022 12:45:00 PM

Well said Milton , talk is cheap it's action that is needed everywhere. Its about time the politicians acted on the promises they made about tackling all sorts of crime. What a sad world we live in. Tom

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/7/2022 12:50:00 PM

You are soooo right, Tom. And the sooner the better!

Jenna Logan

Date: 6/7/2022 11:01:00 AM

Something's got to change, Milt. Mass shootings are out of control, and now it seems they've become the "thing" to do for those with warped minds and/or vengeful hearts. Fear builds each time we need to leave our homes. Your lines need to be shouted from a megaphone.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/7/2022 12:51:00 PM

Absolutely, Jenna. We're rapidly reaching critical mass in this thing. For the first time ever, last night as I ate dinner in a restaurant, I thought, "Wow, someone could come through that door and shoot all of us!" It's scary.