To the Overlords
To the Overlords - Part I
To the Overlords of this world—
the hollow men and women,
with full bellies—but still insatiable in their hunger—
gorging at the top,
looking down at the people—
"below".
The hollow men and women,
hoarding bullion, machinery, land, and toys—
Shoving it all—into the echo chambers of their privilege—
A spectacle of excess.
A competition of greed.
The have-nots crushed—by the deliberate thrusts of their overlord's hips—
Hollow men—and women.
Pitiful men, and women,
coddling their insecurities—
As mothers and fathers struggle
to nurture their emaciated children,
Praying for mercy—
to overlords who believe themselves chosen—
Favored. Anointed by God—
A God they do not believe in.
The architects of decay,
gallivanting across our screens,
Vultures draped in fine cloth.
Creatures of hell.
Signing and lobbying into law—
only what lines their pockets.
Eating organic—gold
off their plates,
Feeding the void, the parasite inside,
mistaking it for a soul.
Feasting. Parading in shallow fashion.
Poisoning oceans.
Drowning rivers in oil.
Dissolving democracy.
Displacing millions with the stroke of a pen.
To the hollow men and women—
the despicable, the deplorable—
Those who think of themselves Kings and Queens,
believing their flesh won’t rot like the rest of us.
To the overlords of this world,
to you, we raise our empty glasses.
Cheers.
Cheers!
To your greed—
may it rot alongside you,
When you inevitably join us—
six feet underground.
About this poem
I am angry. I am frustrated. I am watching, as those in power hoard wealth, dismantle democracy, and crush the people below—all in the name of insatiable growth. As a Social Science major with a concentration in Economics at NYU, I study these systems, but living through them is something else entirely. The numbers aren’t just figures—they are lives. I see the hollow men and women on TV, signing away futures, feeding their greed, believing they are untouchable. But no amount of wealth will save them from decay. more »
Written on February 18, 2025
Submitted by @Lbfisher on February 18, 2025
Modified by @Lbfisher on March 01, 2025
- 1:26 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | x ABxxcx Bx x de x bbx cb fbxx xg xx xx xx xx b xxfx bc gd Ax HH ex dx |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,533 |
Words | 286 |
Stanzas | 22 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 6, 2, 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
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"To the Overlords" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 19 Mar. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/213864/to-the-overlords>.
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