They burned books in Berlin,
once upon a time. No thoughts
that would contradict could
be encouraged to exist.

"We will tell you what to say,
what to think,
what to write"
they chimed, with smiles as broad as their
lice stained minds.

From telling people what to read,
they moved on to
telling them what to think.

What colour their hair had to be,
and the shape and colour
of their eyes must be
just right.

Strangely enough, very few
bothered to offer their
opinions on the matter.

They shut their doors, and shut their hearts,
to the slaughtering of their freedoms.

"We will not see,
we will not hear,
we will not speak"
they chanted together in their
collective religion of
compliance.

They mumbled amongst themselves,
but not loud enough for the
oppressors to hear.

They burned souls in Berlin,
once upon a time.
No collected thoughts of higher
achievement
would be allowed to thrive.

They sat in their steel and glass edifices
and congratulated themselves
on their integrity.
They drank their glasses of wine
and were content in
their idealistic lies.

The first word in refusing freedom
is silence.

------- Author's Notes -------

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