Identity
by sylph Thursday, Jul 19 2012, 4:35am
international / poetry / post

To know is to Be

Artwork, Tim Storrier

i never carry ID,
i have never doubted or questioned
my existence;
but the State demands ‘identifying’
papers, licences, passports etc;
it prefers documents
over the INTEGRITY of a living person –
such perversity.

easily fabricated inert paper and plastic cards
carry more weight/authority today
than a living sentient being --
wonder no more why States
no longer respect/represent the people.

in my youth i was often asked
what i wanted to be,
my response was always the same,
“i already am what i want to be”
(i would have thought that obvious)
however, it seems others
cannot take a person at ‘face-to-face’ value,
they (also) require ‘fake’ ID as proof of bona fides,
State issued social ‘locators,’
‘meaningful’ identifiers.

the State claims it derives its authority
from the people yet it steadfastly refuses
to acknowledge the sovereignty
of individuals, preferring instead to
regard the people as ‘subjects’
identified and tagged like cattle and sheep.

should we bemoan today’s
horrid political realities?
it was entirely predictable that
States would become entities/powers
unto themselves,
ruling over rather than for the people.

surely,
it is to be expected
that a State which refuses to acknowledge
who and what we are
would one day view the population as the enemy,
a threat to be monitored, subject to indefinite detention
and locked down.

identifying a person by his/her
slave status/vocation
rather than by individual human qualities
is a gross perversity imposed by those who
would create a subservient work(slave)force –
we are who we are,
what we ‘do’ at any given time
varies according to numerous factors.

how is it that OUR leaders openly indulge their criminality
with ‘kill lists’ targeting people THEY dislike
without proper, LEGAL oversight --
who do our leaders really serve/represent?

why is it Bankers and Corporate CEOs
are able to commit massive frauds and other crimes
with impunity?

attempting to locate all citizens, persons or groups
somewhere in a predefined, mapped and
controlled social space
should warrant ‘some’ justification/investigation,
don’t YOU think?

the State is no longer our friend
that is abundantly CLEAR today;
we are denied due process,
we are monitored, contained and murdered
without charge or trial,
need we elaborate further?

[we]

who are WE?
we are the unknown, untraceable, Uber elite –
we are the worst nightmare of criminal States
and corporate cabals.
do your best against us coz you are going down,
and you know it.

the breath u feel on ur vile, murdering, criminal necks
is the cold, impartial breath of Justice/Retribution!