‘A Communist Specter Haunts the West’ by Adam Jon Miller 

A Villanelle 

“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” —George Orwell

From the first green grass we navigate—
Through days & nights of wake & sleep—
Down this road that leads to our house of hate.

When the wise are fools, it’s far too late—
Kneels a shepherd down to beg his sheep.
From the first green grass we navigate.

When fish have feet & man is bait,
Hail dirt—hail dust—burn brooms—don’t sweep!
Down this road leads to a house of hate.

While a city ruined must face its fate,
Still a law that lives, so rare, worth keep.
From the first green grass we navigate.

Say something—anything—they lock the gate.
Because they, my friend, are meek—skin-deep.
Down this road leads to a house of hate.

When wrong is right, most celebrate.
Nearly dead—the truth—yet few will weep.
From the first green grass we navigate
Down this road that leads to our house of hate.

Adam Jon Miller earned a degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of Kansas. He currently resides in Northwest Florida with his wife and two children where he co-manages a family real estate brokerage. 

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