Xiphos
Once, over Damocles, it swung
Suspended from a slender hair
And threatened him with sudden death.
Now, over our democracies,
The fatal sword of tyranny
Is poised to strike.
We should not sit
Inert, dismayed, like Damocles;
For our oppressive terror is
Chaotic anarchy itself,
Held in suspension only by
The fragile thread of decency;
And if we lose our nerve, we die.
Therefore, summoning courage, we should seize
The dread blade’s hilt and disarm our unease.
