Photo: Zane Lee on Unsplash
“Quite simply,” she said,
“The very times when some in power
Are seeking to perplex you,
Are the times when you best make sure
That you are not at all confused.”
“For when what should be simple
Is deliberately made unclear,
And what’s logical is spun
Cheaply to cost dear,
It ought to signal your eyes
To remain widely open,
And your ears to insist on holding only
To the truth.”
She sighed and touched the blue print
Faded on her arm,
Seared like yesterday
In her heart and mind.
For Sammi’s Weekend Writing Challenge: Perplex in 90 words
Na'ama Yehuda 
Na’ama Y’karah,
“The blueprint faded on her arm” is the sucker punch to this poem. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle. … There are fewer and fewer left who had been through the horrors of the holocaust and the years that led to it and the events (and gaslighting) that allowed it. And there are more and more who are daring to claim that it none of it never happened or “wasn’t that bad.” The realities of hate rising again on the waves of deceit and misleading allow other kinds of realities to be ignored and risk to be minimized and misinformed about. It is a good time to be awake and aware and not at all perplexed about what things are and where they can go. We need not be afraid, but we sure cannot be afford to allow others to make us confused.
Here’s to truth. And hope.
Na’ama
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As long as there’s breath left in my body, I’ll be shedding light in that dark corner. L’chaim. L’emet.
Rochelle
Hag Purim Samayakh
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You and me, both, dear friend. You and me both.
And … Purim Same’ach!
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https://rochellewisoff.com/2020/03/07/weekend-writing-prompt-perplex/
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As with Rochelle, it was that *blueprint* on her arm that keyed me to the story
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Thanks, Crispina. There are people alive today who have survived WWII and they are raising many alarms about the realities they witness today. There are so many similarities – from the rise of hate and legitimization of xenophobia and spread of lies by current administrations, to the withholding of information (and access to testing) with regards to possible pandemics in order to “keep the numbers down” … The gaslighting is a reality we should heed the warnings about. The numbers tattooed on human being’s forearms are the evidence of where things go when left unprotested by those who have the power to raise their voice and demand truth, transparency, humanity, decency, tolerance, facts, and end to corruption and hate. (Off the soap box I go…)
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I hear what you’re saying, and shudder when I see the reports and hear what they’re saying.
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Me too, my friend. It boggles the mind and yet … there it is.
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Yea… and we’re back to that eternal hope
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E’zatly!
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The key line in this piece to me, was “And what’s logical is spun”. When we allow ourselves to be won over by anything that disagrees with logic- chaos is not far away. Beautifully rendered piece.
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Thank you, Violet. Yes, when logic is spun to be made to seem as ‘fake news’ and when facts are rendered ‘hoaxes’ in the service of those who peddle falsehoods and gaslighting, it is way past time to stop the chaos that’s already forming. And yet, there are so many who are ‘trained’ to ignore facts and listen only to the narcissistically uninformed … that we ought remind ourselves what happens to communities that allow such ‘leadership’ to take hold.
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When I came across the last few lines, I read it all again and it had a whole new meaning. Well done Na’ama.
My ninety words!
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Thank you, Keith. I think the meaning is the same for all the circumstances that allow it … and the awfulness they lead to if we do not take heed. I’m glad it communicated the profound realities that gaslighting and spinning reality and calling facts ‘fake news’ and science ‘a hoax’, all while feeding hate and rewarding cowardice and lies, not courage and truth … can bring us to.
Na’ama
Off to read yours!
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Beautifully done, once again.
That faded blue print brings everything into perspective, doesn’t it?
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Thank you, Dale.
Yes, I think it should bring it into perspective … because it reminds us what is possible … and where this leads, and how our own eyes – if closed or looking elsewhere or refusing to acknowledge – can be part of what allows things like atrocities to take place …
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Yes…
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XO
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