The Faceless Men

By Cliff Lake

 

The Faceless Men

 

They obey complicit order:

Operation by color sorted.

Rules of engagement get broader,

Excuses made for old hates fodder.

 

Guns in the street no accident,

Victims chosen for their accent.

No badges signal their intent –

Don’t bother asking the faceless men.

 

Faceless men in the street and then,

People dragged off to secret den.

Some are workers, some are friends,

Disappeared by the faceless men.

 

Big black car going too far,

Occupants that don’t say who they are.

Not enough grabbed; lower the bar,

Fascism’s course right on par.

 

All of this rank offence is meant,

Explained away by precedent.

Stoke rage and fear: the mind is bent,

The cure offered are faceless men.

 

Faceless men in the street and then,

People dragged off to secret den.

Some are workers, some are friends,

Disappeared by the faceless men.

 

Patrol the streets like prison guard,

Featureless to make them look hard.

National identity marred:

Your peace of mind ain’t in the cards.

 

Deployment no coincidence:

The result of knees unbent.

How much longer will we pretend:

We are hostages of faceless men.

 

Faceless men in the street and then,

People dragged off to secret den.

Some are workers, some are friends,

Disappeared by the faceless men.

 

No badges signal their intent –

Don’t bother asking the faceless men.

Stoke rage and fear: the mind is bent,

The cure offered are faceless men.

They are workers, they are friends,

Fallen prey to the faceless men.

How much longer will we pretend:

We are hostages of faceless men.

 

Cliff Lake 8/20/2025

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2025

Location: Washington, DC, USA

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