By Roger Chao
The Siren’s Call
When twilight cloaks the city’s restless streets,
And fear whispers through the cracks in our resolve,
A siren’s call, like venom, softly seeps,
Luring hearts towards shadows that evolve.
When storms of change rage fierce and unrestrained,
And the unknown stretches vast and deep,
The weary heart, in search of what’s maintained,
Turns to the siren’s call, forlorn and weak.
They speak of walls, of purity and pride,
Of turning back the clock to ‘better’ days,
Yet every brick laid hides what’s inside,
A poison that corrupts, a moral haze.
In the cacophony of anxious minds,
These voices find a home, a place to grow,
Preying on the lost, the scared, the blind,
With twisted truths that many come to know.
“Come,” they urge, “embrace the old ways strong,
Shield yourselves from change and all that’s new,”
But this retreat is where we all go wrong,
Trading progress for a tainted view.
The sirens whisper of a world long past,
Of times when ignorance held sway with ease,
But we, enlightened, know that such won’t last,
For knowledge, once ignited, won’t appease.
In their fortress built on fear and spite,
We imprison not the other, but our soul,
Abandoning the spectrum of life’s light,
For a world that’s stunted, broken, cold.
Remember history’s dark and twisted paths,
Where hatred’s seed took root and spread its blight,
When promises of greatness hid the wrath,
And led us all into the endless night.
So when the night is darkest, and fear takes hold,
Do not be swayed by the siren’s song,
Stand firm, be brave, let your heart be bold,
For in unity and love, we belong.
The siren’s song is danger cloaked in peace,
A promise of security that fades,
For every whisper hides a dark caprice,
Every touch of comfort slowly degrades.
Thus, let the siren’s song be but a call,
To vigilance, to steadfastness in truth,
For in our hearts, we hold the strength of all,
To weave a world where justice guides our youth.
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Roger Chao is a writer based in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges, where the forest and local community inspire his writings. Passionate about social justice, Roger strives to use his writing to engage audiences to think critically about the role they can play in making a difference.
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Very good, Roger. And timely.
Roswell’s said all that needs, so thank you Roger, you’re a fine writer.
Well done, and thank you, Roger. I hope you won’t mind my borrowing a line to make a point I’ve been mulling since 2015 when the Spectre of Trump arose to haunt the world.
“Luring hearts towards shadows that evolve.” (Stanza 1, Line 4)
Shadows are no-substance. They exist because of the interactions of two or more things of substance.
Shadows that evolve is the perfect working definition of an Egregore. From the three sources below, an Egregore is:
~ a non-physical entity or thoughtform
~ that arises from the collective thoughts and emotions of
~ a distinct group of individuals
~ that becomes an autonomous entity with the power to influence
~ and which increases as it is invoked.
Now, you might think, that’s a bit… y’no… occult… isn’t it? So, you don’t reckon the occult is real? Neither did until I tried to explain the hysteria at the centre of which… well… you know the rest.
An egregore (also spelled egregor; from French égrégore, from Ancient Greek ἐγρήγορος, egrēgoros ‘wakeful’) is a concept in Western esotericism of a non-physical entity or thoughtform that arises from the collective thoughts and emotions of a distinct group of individuals. (Wikipedia)
An egregore (pronounced egg’ gree gore) is a group thought-form. It can be created either intentionally or unintentionally, and becomes an autonomous entity with the power to influence. A group with a common purpose like a family, a club, a political party, a church, or a country can create an egregore, for better or worse depending upon the type of thought that created it. (Theosophy Wiki)
An egregore, or egregor, is a metaphysical term for a sort of group consciousness, like a zeitgeist or an archetype. It derives from the Hebrew word for “angel” and also for “city”, and it has enjoyed many misadventures on its way to English. Like a servitor entity, an egregore is created—whether intentionally or otherwise—by people. But unlike a servitor, an egregore is shared by more than one person, and its power increases as it is invoked. (Exemplore)
Thank You, Roger
@ Paul Smith: “Luring hearts towards shadows that evolve.” (Stanza 1, Line 4)
Reminded me of the definition of ”Trumpery”; 1. Worthless finery, rubbish, nonsense. 2. Showy but worthless, delusive, shallow.
Concise Oxford Dictionary.
A very fine poem, Roger for our times rendered in iambic pentameter and I like the mythological root of the siren’s call… a poignant and beautiful poem that in the shadow of darkness, still there is light. Let’s hope the contemporary shadow we face will be short lived.
Egregore is certainly quite a troubling phenomenon. But we can also look to Carl Jung for perspective on this – in understanding the role and nature of archetypes and the collective unconscious, in that metaphysical or universal sense, not just mythological, cult or occult. But nothing quite explains the zombie narcissistic ignorant messianic lunacy that is raising its ugly head in the USA other than to match, reflect or suckle on that other deep dark State of Russia – birth of twins… a modern day Romulus and Remus.
In my years of mental health and group leadership training, we were always wary of the concept of ‘groupthink’, a dynamic that can emerge from dysfunctional leadership and group dynamics, where none may or choose not to challenge the emerging norm, a narrow vision adopted and shared by the whole group – and you can certainly see the politics of it, the manipulation, the abuse of power, misdirection and misinformation… the lies, deception, twists, projections, perversities on the back of delusion and discombobulation.
But to the degree it becomes delusional at a group, public or population level has always defied explanation in psychiatry, well at least in the American DSM lexicon, which defines delusions as an individual phenomenon not shared by others – Well I have always thought the DSM is clearly mistaken on this point! See what history has shown us – from Emperor Nero to the Roman Catholic Spanish Inquisition, Jihad to evangelical christian fundamentalism, the terrors of Mein Kampf to Zionism in Palestine and Judaea, Stalinism to Putinism, ungovernable capitalism to Trumpism and MAGA Project 2025.
I think the Scotts have the best description of Trumpery… ‘Cockwomble or cockwombling’. But this does not explain the deceit and perversity, delusional grandiosity, messianic cult of Trump and new Republicanism, and his malicious dangerous rambling demented, flight of ideas psychotic cockwomblng, that drags so many Americans onto the rocks of impending loss of freedom and national disaster.
Sláinte and G’day – bye bye Miss Liberty America… into the sunset she sails!