An Exercise in Obedience

Stop, read no further. Do not carry on.
The words on this page are not meant to be read
so leave them alone and be gone.

Do you not understand? You’re here so you don’t.
The following lines are not for you to read,
I’m hoping you’ll stop but you won’t.

Ok, I have asked and I’ll ask once again.
You’ve come all this way without manners or shame
but please do not read to the end.

I know you can read you are doing so now.
So turn your attention and your comprehension
to ending this folly somehow.

How long will you batter proprieties bounds?
A last opportunity, cease and desist
your arrogance simply astounds!

Alas here you are come to sample the fruits.
Can it be that your life is an endless parade
of such stubborn and foolish pursuits?

I wrote this as an experiment in what I sometimes refer to as “visceral poetry”. By that I mean poetry designed specifically to elicit a visceral reaction…intentional provocation. Did I succeed?  🙂

If you made it to the end please leave a comment so that others will know they weren’t the only ones not to follow instructions.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

6 thoughts on “An Exercise in Obedience

    • Rebellion? Interesting. I find that typically when someone reads to the end out of rebellion they are either a little grumpy or a some form of sad. When someone reads to the end out of curiosity they get a bit of a chuckle. It seems the trick is the know which motivation drove us and then to ask where else that motivation exists.

  1. I’m bad at following directions. It’ll make me question why and how come? So I have to push forward and test the boundaries.

    • “Bad at following directions” probably has a lot of variability in terms of context, risk, and person giving directions. Maybe an indicator of trust in terms of who is giving direction?

      • That could be it Curtis but I don’t think that’s the reason I’m bad at following directions. It has more to do with the fact that I push boundaries and like to see new ways of doing things. Knowing there is an alternate intrigues me and, at times, makes me create new ways of doing things.

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