Silent North, Shouting South

 

"Silent North, Shouting South"
by Zipolita (Tina Winterlik)

While the South shouts scandals in viral streams,
Congressmen cry truth in digital dreams.
Our feeds erupt in circus and fire,
A nation unraveling — yet somehow inspires.

But north of the line, where the maple leaf sways,
Our silence is sharp in more subtle ways.
No clickbait trials, just quiet decay —
Rights eroded, hope swept away.

Indigenous voices still fight to be heard,
Their treaties broken, their histories blurred.
The disabled, the poor, left in the cold,
Stories untold, hearts growing old.

Newspapers vanish, one by one,
Facebook says nothing; the blocking’s begun.
Our truths are too quiet, too raw for the scroll,
Too real for algorithms, too human, too whole.

While headlines south ignite the net,
Our suffering earns no clicks, no threat.
A northern shame, wrapped in calm and snow,
Where silence screams and justice is slow.

So let them rage in their televised hall,
While we write poems, or nothing at all.
But maybe — just maybe — our words will ignite,
A fire from the frost, a voice from the night.