Plague

by Allen Forrest / October 25th, 2026

Infection spreads quickly.
Natural life dies.
It’s always been like this.
Occasionally a few rise up against it, then you see it intensify.
Ignorance—neurosis—sadists come out of their holes and rule the day.
Most people go along.
Won’t speak against it.
In fact they enable it.
They want to stay away from the conflict or adopt the safe opinion.
They go along.
Keep their heads down.
Condemn those who ask questions.
A plague—controlling the emotions.
Intellect is doomed.
Only the shallow can survive without guilt.
The majority.
It could be so different.
A much better way.
But fear keeps the plague alive.
It starts so very early in life.
We’re taught to repress our deepest needs.
The skin is cut off the baby boy’s penis.
Sacrilege!
Trauma!
Shock!
A sickness takes hold.
A repression seeps into every pore.
The child learns to be cold and mean.
The cosmic longing begins it’s sad song.
The plague is reinforced.
Society’s manacles are strengthened.
Medals are handed out.
Awards are presented.
Invented heroes—to worship.
But the plague has an enemy—logic.
Watch the plague’s promoters attack and smear.
Logic, truth, common sense drive them wild with anger.
They invent more fear to demonize those who would have their own thoughts.
The sad story is humanity.
Its victims are all around you.
If you know,
if you can see,
then—good luck.

Allen Forrest is a writer, painter, graphic artist and activist. He has created covers and illustrations for literary publications and books, is the winner of the Leslie Jacoby Honor for Art at San Jose State University's Reed Magazine for 2015, and his Bel Red landscape paintings are part of the Bellevue College Foundation's permanent art collection in Bellevue, WA. He lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Read other articles by Allen, or visit Allen's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.