‘It’s Dangerously Close to Too Late’: A Poem by Mark Stellinga The Society July 17, 2023 Culture, Poetry 11 Comments . It’s Dangerously Close to Too Late Virtually stormed by countless disciples, __trolled by their merchants of Hate, We, who obligingly counter their tactics, __impassioned to join the debate, Must, with our poetry, furnish our young __with the strongest of weapons required To cope with the onslaught of absolute evil __the Democrat party has sired. Sharing opinions that highlight the dangers __in trusting their ploys to refine What has, for decades, dissuaded dissenters __from recklessly falling in line— Rescues the innocent victim from suffering __the too common fate of our youth— Succumbing to left-leaning rogue politicians __who constantly bury the truth! The Pen in the hand of a right-leaning poet __exposes what liberals conceal, And stiffens the spine of the innocent mind __the deceivers are fighting to steal. Rampant corruption has sullied D.C. __to the point where the void is so great Many believe that—for saving our country— __it’s dangerously close to too late! . . Mark Stellinga is a poet and antiques dealer residing in Iowa. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 11 Responses Brian A Yapko July 17, 2023 Thanks for this fine and timely poem, Mark. It ain’t just D.C.! And, unfortunately, it may well be too late. Reply Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 I agree, Brian, the hurdle gets higher and higher each week. It’s getting tough to focus on anything other than cultural pandemonium these days. Fortunately, I’ve managed to pen around 850 “uplifting” pieces over the past 61 years, most, by far, long before I fell prey to my ‘rhyming’ addiction. ‘Cynical’ tends to depress me, and depression tends to affect the quality of my wife’s cooking (??), so, my antidote has been to also share my work on some of the slightly less political sites. I’ve thrown a bit over 500 on PoetrySoup. Thanks for your comment, Brian, stay safe. Reply Joshua C. Frank July 17, 2023 Well said. This is a message that needs to get out. The pen really is mightier than the sword. My only objection is the title and last line, because it’s long since been too late. Historians sometimes like to imagine what the world would be like if (for example) Rome had never fallen, but cultures have a predictable arc from rise to fall, which can no more be changed than the course of the sun. The purpose of our poetry is to raise awareness so people can protect themselves and their families from the craziness—not to stop the ship from sinking, but to get people into lifeboats. Someday we won’t have the luxury of being able to circulate these poems freely, so we have to do this while we can. Or, in a couplet: We have to write our poems while there’s time, Before our words are made into a crime. Reply Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 I agree completely, Joshua, I just don’t like thinking about it. Like many true poets, I have a problem with depression. I’ve penned around 40 pieces that any authentic conservative would really appreciate, but sharing them at the rate of 5 or 6 per year on the SCP, as well as having a 61 year portfolio of poems meant to make readers either LOL or cry, drives me to other sites to get it done. I’ll be giving a thumb-drive of high-tech, VERY political verse (32 pcs.) to President Trump tomorrow in a city not far from where my wife and I live – in Iowa. He’s gonna love ’em! Thanks for your comment. Reply Mark Stellinga July 19, 2023 Joshua, here’s another piece in that same vein – thought you’d appreciate it – The Creed of the Underground Press ‘Til all – from whom the call to fight for truth and freedom come – and all who risk for what is right, are slain…or rendered dumb… ‘Til all – by whom the words of war are loud and clearly said – are bound by chains to speak no more, or lie, with brethren, dead… Though fettered tight to walls of stone, entombed by cold and damp, with comrades held, or, chained alone, in dark and dreary camp, We must endure – and cling to hope, though ‘chance’ is wearing thin, and print what ire with whom we cope – with ink and feathered pen. Despite the blood the rapier spills from soldiers, pure of thought – the toll we take – with patriots’ quills – defies the ‘all for naught’, And, standing strong, when faced with fear – alone or side by side – yeah – though we write with blood or tear – we must…until we’ve died! Stay safe – Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 17, 2023 This poem says so much about the downward spiral of our culture, society, and nation! It has a great message, meter, rhyme, and logic. The only way to save ourselves is to get this message out to everyone to save our children and increase the chances of survival for our next generations. Whatever it takes to do that, I am for such actions. Reply Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 You and I both, Roy. America’s vital signs, compared to back in the ’50s, are so dismal I’m afraid we can never recover, but if the 2024 election goes off without the DNC’s chicanery, I believe it’s still possible. Not likely, but possible. Fingers crossed… Reply Margaret Coats July 17, 2023 Mark, I very much appreciate your making poets the weapons manufacturers you envision. This is a good, and for the most part, straightshooting poem. But after reading stanza 3 five times, I can’t see to aim. It is unclear what used to dissuade dissenters from recklessly falling in line. Good poets do not want it refined; but how did it stop dissenters (from what?) from falling into line (with what?), which they used to do recklessly? I can’t say “chuck the stanza” because, as a whole, it is the subject of the verb “rescues” that begins the next stanza. Glad you’ve taken the opportunity to post many other things on PoetrySoup. There is good work there and on PoemHunter, both of which I used to look at more often. It is usually a matter of luck to find good pieces, but now that you’ve identified your name as a clue, I may try again. Reply Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 I agree, it’s a bit tricky to follow, Margaret. I’m encouraging fellow poets to EXPOSE to our typically naive youth (stanza 2) how and why we, as somewhat savvier soldiers, manage to save ourselves from today’s Democrat’s (stanza 2) whose sole intent is to gain their trust and subsequently take control of their lives. As we all know, Liberals specialize in ever so cleverly diffusing the minds of the vulnerable & weak by distorting the truth, and we now see just how proficient they are at it! I hope this clears it up for you. PS: ‘foolishly’ would likely cause less confusion than ‘recklessly’?? 🙂 Thanks for your insight. Reply Jason Dain July 18, 2023 Mark Stelinga’s poem has an easy but deep rhythm; it has taken me a few re-reads to begin to understand. What a good piece of poetry it is ! As for the message and the need for optimism: in Britain (where I live) we live in dystopia: we can feel ashamed – perhaps even scornful – of our recent PMs: Brexit followed by utter greed; then inept incompetence; then charlatan-buffoon; then I-know-not-how-to-find-a-suitable-adjective; now-a-nothing-doing-nothing-but-safe-words. In the US, the prospect of Maga’s return – aaaaaaarggghh. But history includes utter disasters: fall of the Pharoahs; Pompei; fall of the Roman Empire; plus many more outside the old centre of the world of the Mediterranean. These are my immediate thoughts, but I do not mean to be selective !! Human nature endures; the human mind can prevail over whatever appears to face us in the future. I take great comfort from Tennyson’s words: “The old order changeth, yielding place to new, and God fulfils himself in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world.” : with ‘good’ of course not meaning literally benign so much as ‘common or established commonplace’. Sorry to have written so much, but I do believe humankind remains a worthwhile existence, particularly with the beauty and comfort of poetry such as I have found in Mark’s verse. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 26, 2023 Mark, this well-crafted poem romps along with rhyme, rhythm, and a message that many of us recognize… a sad message that makes me hope that more will stand up and resist the insane ideologies our present globalist government has foisted upon us. You are speaking my language with a poetic passion that’s contagious. Thank you for your inspiration and your constant support! 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Brian A Yapko July 17, 2023 Thanks for this fine and timely poem, Mark. It ain’t just D.C.! And, unfortunately, it may well be too late. Reply
Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 I agree, Brian, the hurdle gets higher and higher each week. It’s getting tough to focus on anything other than cultural pandemonium these days. Fortunately, I’ve managed to pen around 850 “uplifting” pieces over the past 61 years, most, by far, long before I fell prey to my ‘rhyming’ addiction. ‘Cynical’ tends to depress me, and depression tends to affect the quality of my wife’s cooking (??), so, my antidote has been to also share my work on some of the slightly less political sites. I’ve thrown a bit over 500 on PoetrySoup. Thanks for your comment, Brian, stay safe. Reply
Joshua C. Frank July 17, 2023 Well said. This is a message that needs to get out. The pen really is mightier than the sword. My only objection is the title and last line, because it’s long since been too late. Historians sometimes like to imagine what the world would be like if (for example) Rome had never fallen, but cultures have a predictable arc from rise to fall, which can no more be changed than the course of the sun. The purpose of our poetry is to raise awareness so people can protect themselves and their families from the craziness—not to stop the ship from sinking, but to get people into lifeboats. Someday we won’t have the luxury of being able to circulate these poems freely, so we have to do this while we can. Or, in a couplet: We have to write our poems while there’s time, Before our words are made into a crime. Reply
Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 I agree completely, Joshua, I just don’t like thinking about it. Like many true poets, I have a problem with depression. I’ve penned around 40 pieces that any authentic conservative would really appreciate, but sharing them at the rate of 5 or 6 per year on the SCP, as well as having a 61 year portfolio of poems meant to make readers either LOL or cry, drives me to other sites to get it done. I’ll be giving a thumb-drive of high-tech, VERY political verse (32 pcs.) to President Trump tomorrow in a city not far from where my wife and I live – in Iowa. He’s gonna love ’em! Thanks for your comment. Reply
Mark Stellinga July 19, 2023 Joshua, here’s another piece in that same vein – thought you’d appreciate it – The Creed of the Underground Press ‘Til all – from whom the call to fight for truth and freedom come – and all who risk for what is right, are slain…or rendered dumb… ‘Til all – by whom the words of war are loud and clearly said – are bound by chains to speak no more, or lie, with brethren, dead… Though fettered tight to walls of stone, entombed by cold and damp, with comrades held, or, chained alone, in dark and dreary camp, We must endure – and cling to hope, though ‘chance’ is wearing thin, and print what ire with whom we cope – with ink and feathered pen. Despite the blood the rapier spills from soldiers, pure of thought – the toll we take – with patriots’ quills – defies the ‘all for naught’, And, standing strong, when faced with fear – alone or side by side – yeah – though we write with blood or tear – we must…until we’ve died! Stay safe – Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 17, 2023 This poem says so much about the downward spiral of our culture, society, and nation! It has a great message, meter, rhyme, and logic. The only way to save ourselves is to get this message out to everyone to save our children and increase the chances of survival for our next generations. Whatever it takes to do that, I am for such actions. Reply
Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 You and I both, Roy. America’s vital signs, compared to back in the ’50s, are so dismal I’m afraid we can never recover, but if the 2024 election goes off without the DNC’s chicanery, I believe it’s still possible. Not likely, but possible. Fingers crossed… Reply
Margaret Coats July 17, 2023 Mark, I very much appreciate your making poets the weapons manufacturers you envision. This is a good, and for the most part, straightshooting poem. But after reading stanza 3 five times, I can’t see to aim. It is unclear what used to dissuade dissenters from recklessly falling in line. Good poets do not want it refined; but how did it stop dissenters (from what?) from falling into line (with what?), which they used to do recklessly? I can’t say “chuck the stanza” because, as a whole, it is the subject of the verb “rescues” that begins the next stanza. Glad you’ve taken the opportunity to post many other things on PoetrySoup. There is good work there and on PoemHunter, both of which I used to look at more often. It is usually a matter of luck to find good pieces, but now that you’ve identified your name as a clue, I may try again. Reply
Mark Stellinga July 17, 2023 I agree, it’s a bit tricky to follow, Margaret. I’m encouraging fellow poets to EXPOSE to our typically naive youth (stanza 2) how and why we, as somewhat savvier soldiers, manage to save ourselves from today’s Democrat’s (stanza 2) whose sole intent is to gain their trust and subsequently take control of their lives. As we all know, Liberals specialize in ever so cleverly diffusing the minds of the vulnerable & weak by distorting the truth, and we now see just how proficient they are at it! I hope this clears it up for you. PS: ‘foolishly’ would likely cause less confusion than ‘recklessly’?? 🙂 Thanks for your insight. Reply
Jason Dain July 18, 2023 Mark Stelinga’s poem has an easy but deep rhythm; it has taken me a few re-reads to begin to understand. What a good piece of poetry it is ! As for the message and the need for optimism: in Britain (where I live) we live in dystopia: we can feel ashamed – perhaps even scornful – of our recent PMs: Brexit followed by utter greed; then inept incompetence; then charlatan-buffoon; then I-know-not-how-to-find-a-suitable-adjective; now-a-nothing-doing-nothing-but-safe-words. In the US, the prospect of Maga’s return – aaaaaaarggghh. But history includes utter disasters: fall of the Pharoahs; Pompei; fall of the Roman Empire; plus many more outside the old centre of the world of the Mediterranean. These are my immediate thoughts, but I do not mean to be selective !! Human nature endures; the human mind can prevail over whatever appears to face us in the future. I take great comfort from Tennyson’s words: “The old order changeth, yielding place to new, and God fulfils himself in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world.” : with ‘good’ of course not meaning literally benign so much as ‘common or established commonplace’. Sorry to have written so much, but I do believe humankind remains a worthwhile existence, particularly with the beauty and comfort of poetry such as I have found in Mark’s verse. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 26, 2023 Mark, this well-crafted poem romps along with rhyme, rhythm, and a message that many of us recognize… a sad message that makes me hope that more will stand up and resist the insane ideologies our present globalist government has foisted upon us. You are speaking my language with a poetic passion that’s contagious. Thank you for your inspiration and your constant support! Reply
