2026-01-18 13:37 UTC
I read it as playing with expectations. From the first stanza we believe the protagonist considers things to be falling apart _because_ anarchism is on the loose; however, in the final stanza we learn that our hero is themselves part of the turn to anarchism, as an appropriate response to everything going to shit.
Anarchy has been let loose, and bludgeoning the POTUS with the complete works of Yeats is a perfect expression thereof.
@timwaterman@mas.to @brianbilston@mastodon.online
Replies (1)
-
@passenger@kolektiva.social 2026-01-18 22:27
@sab@hostux.social @timwaterman@mas.to @brianbilston@mastodon.online Yeah, I also read it like this. William Butler Yeats, a fascist poet, could not imagine anything more terrifying than anarchy and so wrote it into a poem about the emergence of the antichrist. Meanwhile, actual anarchy is about people being able to restore a measure of order by fighting back against oppressors, and that's what the poem suggests.