Room 101 (Orwell's 1984)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Room 101*

 

They know your worst fears

They can see it in your eyes

They are knowers and deep seers

They can smell all your lies

 

Every thought you’ve ever thought

Every dream you’ve ever dreamed

Every treasure you have sought

Every pleasure you have gleaned

 

They will take you in their arms

They will promise you the stars

They’ll protect you from all harm

They will tell you who you are

 

But you must promise in return

To blindly follow without doubt

Clear your mind until you learn

You’ll never know what it’s about

 

Your soul belongs to Big Brother

To this purpose you were born

Just like all and every other

To the state you will be sworn

 

* George Orwell 1984

 

Orwell

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

Orwell

 

We’re expanding the war

To keep the war from expanding

The commander saw no wry humor

No sense of contradiction in his statement

We’re increasing the bombardment

To bring peace to the region

Orwell would be proud

 

The war will end when

We have defeated the enemy

When we have defeated the enemy

The war will come to an end

This is the way of war in the 21^st century

We fight until there’s no one left to fight

We destroy the enemy head to toe

We yank him out by the roots

 

Yes innocent people will die

Yes civilians will suffer mass casualties

In modern warfare there is no alternative

The enemy uses its people as shields

But in the end they will thank us

In the end they will call us liberators

The commander saw no irony

No sense of the absurd in his statements

Until a reporter finally asked:

How can dead people thank you?

How can ghosts greet you as liberators?

 

The commander had no more to say

He turned on his heels and walked away

War is peace, said Orwell from his grave

War is peace and the dead cannot be saved