I Have a Curse

It might be a blessing

Jan 21, 2026

Syllabic 30 Resistance Poem

Before your reading this, I might provide a little context. I live in Tampa, FL, where just showing my location while standing in protest can be dangerous.

Living here and being a person aware of the future of things, I have a responsibility to speak to and against the tyrannical approaches of this state’s governance and that of the federal government.

To sit silent and not speak out is moral cowardice when you know. Tyrants always target the artists, the writers, and the poets first when they are trying to subjugate people.

I don’t have a GoFundMe for protection because few yet recognize the dangers we face as artists. So be it; we still do the work.

stone holy water font with cross and the words “I pray without ceasing” — Holy water font= Photo by WyteShot 📸 on Unsplash

I
have a
curse,
or might
it be a
blessing,
difficult,
unfortunate
as it is.

I must follow
insight and conscience,
knowing full well
it may lead nowhere
but to alien camps,
where the enemies
are kept, tightly contained,
constrained, and then forgotten
in this chaos ever-
present, urelenting haze.

To be summarily condemned,
for I can see the future,
and refuse to hold its secrets,
although they demand I keep them so,
to hide the terror in shadows,
until the spark of revolution
slowly dies in starvation and weakness.

As reality and truth forever
breathe through this contentious maniverse,
burn away the lies, turn it all to ash,
weak voices gain their timbre, when we listen
and remember what we saw in the dark.

New Syllabic Form

the “culminating 30”

Michael Hall

“Syllabic Poetry — the Culminating 30”

Questions:

1- What do you see in this poem? What themes are here?

2- Is this positive or negative, or something else altogether?

3- What sort of structure does it have? Why? Does it affect the way you receive it?

4- Do you find any ideas “between” the lines, in the word use, for instance?

5- Is this a mindless or dangerous piece?

Please comment on anything you see, no matter how inane or critical.

If you like my work, please Buy Me a Coffee