by Nick Gisburne
We all remember how it went before,
When malice left the room, a liar’s kiss.
We felt it coming, knew they needed more.
It never seemed so final, not like this.
We finished it, together. Who knows how?
Perhaps we just had nothing left to lose.
With fear they forced us all to kneel or bow,
But not to love the colour of their shoes.
Alone, without the terror of a fist,
We mourn, but not for something that we lost.
We’re peering at a sunrise, through the mist,
Uncertain who we are, what life will cost.
Tomorrow is a hole we have to fill.
We cannot see the future, but we will.
Showing posts with label Government Guidelines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government Guidelines. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Monday, 25 May 2026
Government Guidelines: War is War
by Nick Gisburne
Your government can actively assert
That all suspended statutes are restored.
Additional restrictions will divert
More migrants to the mines, without reward...
...without reward...
...reward...
...ward...
...warrrrrrrrrrrr...
We’re in the system. Network scans are black.
The Charlie-Nines will isolate the core.
Identify your targets for attack.
No prisoners. No mercy. War is war.
Confirmed collapse of military screens.
We took the towers. Just the bunker now.
I don’t know what this moment really means,
But we’re the ones who... wait a moment... wow.
It’s no surprise. Remember what we said?
All cowards, every one of ’em. They’re dead.
Your government can actively assert
That all suspended statutes are restored.
Additional restrictions will divert
More migrants to the mines, without reward...
...without reward...
...reward...
...ward...
...warrrrrrrrrrrr...
We’re in the system. Network scans are black.
The Charlie-Nines will isolate the core.
Identify your targets for attack.
No prisoners. No mercy. War is war.
Confirmed collapse of military screens.
We took the towers. Just the bunker now.
I don’t know what this moment really means,
But we’re the ones who... wait a moment... wow.
It’s no surprise. Remember what we said?
All cowards, every one of ’em. They’re dead.
Sunday, 24 May 2026
The Quarter: Kin
by Nick Gisburne
The Quarter Kin, though legion, work alone.
We scratch beneath the surface of the beast.
Unseen, untouched by twilight, we have grown,
Disrupting where the state expects us least.
A cable, cut. A tracker, broken, blind.
A small contamination of the code.
We chew like termites, difficult to find,
Reclaiming, piece by piece, what we are owed.
Procedures, stacked as walls of lies and laws,
Are paper castles, waiting for the rain.
We pick and pry, to weaken with our claws,
To violate their blood, their bones, their brain.
We test. We touch. We set our baited traps.
We work to watch authority collapse.
The Quarter Kin, though legion, work alone.
We scratch beneath the surface of the beast.
Unseen, untouched by twilight, we have grown,
Disrupting where the state expects us least.
A cable, cut. A tracker, broken, blind.
A small contamination of the code.
We chew like termites, difficult to find,
Reclaiming, piece by piece, what we are owed.
Procedures, stacked as walls of lies and laws,
Are paper castles, waiting for the rain.
We pick and pry, to weaken with our claws,
To violate their blood, their bones, their brain.
We test. We touch. We set our baited traps.
We work to watch authority collapse.
Saturday, 23 May 2026
Government Guidelines: Irregular Announcement GGY
by Nick Gisburne
The systems of surveillance we employ,
Though currently inert, will be rebuilt.
We trust you will continue to enjoy
Your short, unscheduled freedoms, without guilt.
In other news, the double-ration dole
Delivered to the populace today
Was issued by a faulty feed control,
But this will be addressed without delay.
And finally, the Execution Court,
Demolished by a clerical mistake,
Will pause until a government report
Identifies the moves we need to make.
Irregular Announcement GGY.
More bulletins are imminent. Stand by.
The systems of surveillance we employ,
Though currently inert, will be rebuilt.
We trust you will continue to enjoy
Your short, unscheduled freedoms, without guilt.
In other news, the double-ration dole
Delivered to the populace today
Was issued by a faulty feed control,
But this will be addressed without delay.
And finally, the Execution Court,
Demolished by a clerical mistake,
Will pause until a government report
Identifies the moves we need to make.
Irregular Announcement GGY.
More bulletins are imminent. Stand by.
The Quarter: The Turning
by Nick Gisburne
The old regime’s repression has returned,
Delivered as a ‘liberating force’,
But we are not the dead these demons burned.
We lived, endured, survived the dark divorce.
Their venomous dystopia is back.
We kneel to it, surrendering, for now,
But cudgels, bats and billysticks will crack
When struck with something stronger. We know how.
We suffer every statute, ruled by rules.
They preach, then punish, just because they can,
But we are not the same submissive fools.
We played this game before. We have a plan.
The Turning is already under way.
Our time will come, but this is not the day.
The old regime’s repression has returned,
Delivered as a ‘liberating force’,
But we are not the dead these demons burned.
We lived, endured, survived the dark divorce.
Their venomous dystopia is back.
We kneel to it, surrendering, for now,
But cudgels, bats and billysticks will crack
When struck with something stronger. We know how.
We suffer every statute, ruled by rules.
They preach, then punish, just because they can,
But we are not the same submissive fools.
We played this game before. We have a plan.
The Turning is already under way.
Our time will come, but this is not the day.
Friday, 22 May 2026
The Quarter: Frozen Bones
by Nick Gisburne
The end for some, the Quarter, never came.
A wave of missiles shattered in a storm.
The genocide, a sick, sadistic game,
Was thwarted by a blizzard’s feral form.
What thanks are we to offer up for that?
Contamination stains the toxic earth.
Our streets are silent, power levels flat.
We suffer, starved. Our babies die at birth.
The exodus of privilege and shame
Surrendered each and all of us to fate,
But we, the few, remember every name,
Engraved upon the frozen bones of hate.
New stories, not yet written on the page,
Will flower from the embers of our rage.
The end for some, the Quarter, never came.
A wave of missiles shattered in a storm.
The genocide, a sick, sadistic game,
Was thwarted by a blizzard’s feral form.
What thanks are we to offer up for that?
Contamination stains the toxic earth.
Our streets are silent, power levels flat.
We suffer, starved. Our babies die at birth.
The exodus of privilege and shame
Surrendered each and all of us to fate,
But we, the few, remember every name,
Engraved upon the frozen bones of hate.
New stories, not yet written on the page,
Will flower from the embers of our rage.
Government Guidelines: Your Value to the State
by Nick Gisburne
In gratitude we grace you with a gift,
A bowl in which to boil more protein bugs,
But working on a chain gang double shift
Requires a body fortified with drugs.
Before your psychedelics are approved,
The mandatory bribe must be bestowed.
Your name will be recorded and removed,
Converted to a sixteen-symbol code.
More truth will be injected while you sleep,
To maximise your value to the state.
Expendable, untraceable and cheap,
Your purpose is to serve or suffocate.
Compliance is important. You are not.
Subversives will be stripped and whipped, then shot.
In gratitude we grace you with a gift,
A bowl in which to boil more protein bugs,
But working on a chain gang double shift
Requires a body fortified with drugs.
Before your psychedelics are approved,
The mandatory bribe must be bestowed.
Your name will be recorded and removed,
Converted to a sixteen-symbol code.
More truth will be injected while you sleep,
To maximise your value to the state.
Expendable, untraceable and cheap,
Your purpose is to serve or suffocate.
Compliance is important. You are not.
Subversives will be stripped and whipped, then shot.
Thursday, 14 May 2026
Government Guidelines: Unit Four
by Nick Gisburne
Although your stated grievances are clear,
Your daughter was detained by Unit Six.
Since this is Unit Four, it would appear
A simple redirection is the fix.
However, by demanding her return,
Your actions break a minor point of law.
Correction here, we hope, will help you learn
To offer more respect to Unit Four.
The weight of such a serious offence
Exceeds the point at which you would be fined.
Imprisoned for a year, at your expense,
A medicated cell has been assigned.
Be thankful we are keeping you alive.
All criminals are shot by Unit Five.
Although your stated grievances are clear,
Your daughter was detained by Unit Six.
Since this is Unit Four, it would appear
A simple redirection is the fix.
However, by demanding her return,
Your actions break a minor point of law.
Correction here, we hope, will help you learn
To offer more respect to Unit Four.
The weight of such a serious offence
Exceeds the point at which you would be fined.
Imprisoned for a year, at your expense,
A medicated cell has been assigned.
Be thankful we are keeping you alive.
All criminals are shot by Unit Five.
Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Government Guidelines: Statute R-16
by Nick Gisburne
You purposely unplugged your safety screen,
Through which you are unable to be scanned.
For violating Statute R-16
Surveillance of your sex life will expand.
A first infraction means you must disrobe,
On penalty of pain if you refuse.
Your body will be fitted with a probe,
Within whichever orifice we choose.
Unpack the pump provided. Keep it clean,
Disposing of the fluids you produce.
A sensory recording of the scene
Will show us any signs of self-abuse.
Abandon hopes of hiding from our sight.
Be sure we will be watching you tonight.
You purposely unplugged your safety screen,
Through which you are unable to be scanned.
For violating Statute R-16
Surveillance of your sex life will expand.
A first infraction means you must disrobe,
On penalty of pain if you refuse.
Your body will be fitted with a probe,
Within whichever orifice we choose.
Unpack the pump provided. Keep it clean,
Disposing of the fluids you produce.
A sensory recording of the scene
Will show us any signs of self-abuse.
Abandon hopes of hiding from our sight.
Be sure we will be watching you tonight.
Friday, 1 May 2026
Government Guidelines: New Government
by Nick Gisburne
We’re back, and we apologise, of course.
Apocalypse was not a great success,
But rather than regale you with remorse,
We come to bring a drug for your distress.
We see that some who served us still survive,
But barely - this is not a pretty place.
Submit, and we will keep you all alive,
Though some we will imprison and replace.
Our guidance is an offering, a choice,
A future that we dare you to defy.
New government will take away your voice,
But in the end, without it, you will die.
Oppression is the price that you must pay,
And soon you’ll wish we never went away.
We’re back, and we apologise, of course.
Apocalypse was not a great success,
But rather than regale you with remorse,
We come to bring a drug for your distress.
We see that some who served us still survive,
But barely - this is not a pretty place.
Submit, and we will keep you all alive,
Though some we will imprison and replace.
Our guidance is an offering, a choice,
A future that we dare you to defy.
New government will take away your voice,
But in the end, without it, you will die.
Oppression is the price that you must pay,
And soon you’ll wish we never went away.
Government Guidelines: The Crucial Vote
by Nick Gisburne
To simplify the coming crucial vote,
Significant improvements will be made.
Before you try to register, please note:
The necessary levy must be paid.
The tolls for those who please us will be waived,
While those opposed will pay a polling tax.
You’ll need to give us every cent you’ve saved,
But only if you’re voting, so relax.
Anonymous no more, you may proceed,
Submitting to the biometric scan.
To legislate the unity we need,
Your government is pleased to push to this plan.
Persuaded to support the other side?
Remember. You can vote. You cannot hide.
To simplify the coming crucial vote,
Significant improvements will be made.
Before you try to register, please note:
The necessary levy must be paid.
The tolls for those who please us will be waived,
While those opposed will pay a polling tax.
You’ll need to give us every cent you’ve saved,
But only if you’re voting, so relax.
Anonymous no more, you may proceed,
Submitting to the biometric scan.
To legislate the unity we need,
Your government is pleased to push to this plan.
Persuaded to support the other side?
Remember. You can vote. You cannot hide.
Friday, 24 April 2026
Government Guidelines: Three Chemicals
by Nick Gisburne
You stand accused of tampering with fate,
By damaging devices of control,
The instruments inserted by the state
To simulate the liberties we stole.
Obedience, a mandatory choice,
Is not to be discarded or abused.
Your government provides you with a voice,
But legally forbids it to be used.
You think to change the system, to rebel,
To exercise the rights you never had.
Summarily convicted, in your cell,
Accept our sweet injections and be glad.
Reclaiming what you took and tried to break,
Three chemicals will cancel your mistake.
You stand accused of tampering with fate,
By damaging devices of control,
The instruments inserted by the state
To simulate the liberties we stole.
Obedience, a mandatory choice,
Is not to be discarded or abused.
Your government provides you with a voice,
But legally forbids it to be used.
You think to change the system, to rebel,
To exercise the rights you never had.
Summarily convicted, in your cell,
Accept our sweet injections and be glad.
Reclaiming what you took and tried to break,
Three chemicals will cancel your mistake.
Thursday, 27 October 2022
Government Guidelines: The End
by Nick Gisburne
Your government is honoured to announce
Apocalypse, precisely as we planned.
The Powers of Authority renounce
The world they broke. We hope you understand.
Its people, too belligerent to please,
Disposable commodities, will die.
A virulent, incurable disease
Will fall, in twenty minutes, from the sky.
We thank you for your service to the state,
Relentless years of slavery and sweat.
For those who seek deliverance: too late.
The Ark is gone, the timer switched and set.
The world is doomed, impossible to mend.
Remember us, your betters, at the end.
Your government is honoured to announce
Apocalypse, precisely as we planned.
The Powers of Authority renounce
The world they broke. We hope you understand.
Its people, too belligerent to please,
Disposable commodities, will die.
A virulent, incurable disease
Will fall, in twenty minutes, from the sky.
We thank you for your service to the state,
Relentless years of slavery and sweat.
For those who seek deliverance: too late.
The Ark is gone, the timer switched and set.
The world is doomed, impossible to mend.
Remember us, your betters, at the end.
Tuesday, 25 October 2022
Government Guidelines: The North Divide
by Nick Gisburne
The documents of settlement are signed,
A pathway to a bolder, brighter dawn,
But you are one of many left behind
The northern border, recently redrawn.
Reclassified as non-essential stock,
A citizen assigned to nowhere, now,
The safety of a southern city block
Is more than we are willing to allow.
Unfortunate. The treaty’s terms are clear.
Your presence is a matter of regret.
Today, to make this problem disappear,
We send this first and final, fatal threat.
Do not attempt to cross the North Divide.
You will not live to see the other side.
The documents of settlement are signed,
A pathway to a bolder, brighter dawn,
But you are one of many left behind
The northern border, recently redrawn.
Reclassified as non-essential stock,
A citizen assigned to nowhere, now,
The safety of a southern city block
Is more than we are willing to allow.
Unfortunate. The treaty’s terms are clear.
Your presence is a matter of regret.
Today, to make this problem disappear,
We send this first and final, fatal threat.
Do not attempt to cross the North Divide.
You will not live to see the other side.
Friday, 21 October 2022
Government Guidelines: Unauthorised Affection
by Nick Gisburne
Overt displays of tenderness are banned.
Today you breached the letter of that law.
However brief or careless, rash, unplanned,
Your sin is one the state cannot ignore.
We find the case, despite your protest, proved.
The guidelines give no pathway to appeal.
Your fingers, by machinery, removed,
Are called for confiscation, quickly. Kneel.
The penalty was carefully designed
To keep disgusting deviance at bay.
For surgical disposal you are fined
A standard fee, with seven days to pay.
Sign here, and here, to say you understand.
If necessary, use your other hand.
Overt displays of tenderness are banned.
Today you breached the letter of that law.
However brief or careless, rash, unplanned,
Your sin is one the state cannot ignore.
We find the case, despite your protest, proved.
The guidelines give no pathway to appeal.
Your fingers, by machinery, removed,
Are called for confiscation, quickly. Kneel.
The penalty was carefully designed
To keep disgusting deviance at bay.
For surgical disposal you are fined
A standard fee, with seven days to pay.
Sign here, and here, to say you understand.
If necessary, use your other hand.
Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Government Guidelines: Failure to Report
by Nick Gisburne
A twenty-cycle sanitation clone,
Your septic saturation point is reached.
Significant decay to blood and bone
Is terminal. Your body must be bleached.
Unauthorised, a failure to report
For purging at the public poison pool
Is noted by the Corporation Court.
A clone who spurns the system is a fool.
The sabotage of protein product bins
Was DNA-identified to you.
You shame a system weary of your sins,
A traitor to the cells from which you grew.
Whatever dirt or defect stains your line,
Be certain we will slice it from your spine.
A twenty-cycle sanitation clone,
Your septic saturation point is reached.
Significant decay to blood and bone
Is terminal. Your body must be bleached.
Unauthorised, a failure to report
For purging at the public poison pool
Is noted by the Corporation Court.
A clone who spurns the system is a fool.
The sabotage of protein product bins
Was DNA-identified to you.
You shame a system weary of your sins,
A traitor to the cells from which you grew.
Whatever dirt or defect stains your line,
Be certain we will slice it from your spine.
Thursday, 29 September 2022
Government Guidelines: Winter
by Nick Gisburne
Citizen, the summer was your last.
Winter will be permanent. Prepare.
Even when the poison clouds have passed,
Toxins will contaminate the air.
Huddle in the bunkers, two by two.
Singles, and the sick, will be destroyed.
Protein, for the precious, favoured few.
Ashes, if your privilege is void.
Missing any payment for your breath
Triggers execution by the state.
Legal declaration of your death
Signifies, with certainty, your fate.
Some are not the specimens we seek.
We, your betters, terminate the weak.
Citizen, the summer was your last.
Winter will be permanent. Prepare.
Even when the poison clouds have passed,
Toxins will contaminate the air.
Huddle in the bunkers, two by two.
Singles, and the sick, will be destroyed.
Protein, for the precious, favoured few.
Ashes, if your privilege is void.
Missing any payment for your breath
Triggers execution by the state.
Legal declaration of your death
Signifies, with certainty, your fate.
Some are not the specimens we seek.
We, your betters, terminate the weak.
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
Government Guidelines: Friends List
by Nick Gisburne
Your list of legal friends has been approved,
Excluding some outside your social grade,
While others, deemed disruptive, were removed,
Imprisoned for the treason they displayed.
A mandatory, state-assigned review,
Of citizens with whom you interact,
Confirms that some, but, luckily, not you,
Installed illegal counter-code when tracked.
This government is pleased to now report
The list, with some redactions, is complete.
Do not attempt to contact or consort
With anyone not cited on your sheet.
Recorded pages in this package: one.
Your friends, your list, from now, forever: none.
Your list of legal friends has been approved,
Excluding some outside your social grade,
While others, deemed disruptive, were removed,
Imprisoned for the treason they displayed.
A mandatory, state-assigned review,
Of citizens with whom you interact,
Confirms that some, but, luckily, not you,
Installed illegal counter-code when tracked.
This government is pleased to now report
The list, with some redactions, is complete.
Do not attempt to contact or consort
With anyone not cited on your sheet.
Recorded pages in this package: one.
Your friends, your list, from now, forever: none.
Sunday, 19 June 2022
Government Guidelines: Blatant Violations
by Nick Gisburne
Your styra-food contaminant complaint
Was escalated swiftly to my desk.
The images enclosed appear to paint
An ugly picture, gruesome, grim, grotesque.
Such blatant violations of the code,
With evidence too naked to ignore,
In this extreme example have bestowed
The maximum award allowed in law.
We sentence you to thirty days of pain,
For every filthy photo of the crime.
Defamatory guidelines make it plain:
The powerful must punish, every time.
Compliant, weak, whatever path you choose,
In life you will inevitably lose.
Your styra-food contaminant complaint
Was escalated swiftly to my desk.
The images enclosed appear to paint
An ugly picture, gruesome, grim, grotesque.
Such blatant violations of the code,
With evidence too naked to ignore,
In this extreme example have bestowed
The maximum award allowed in law.
We sentence you to thirty days of pain,
For every filthy photo of the crime.
Defamatory guidelines make it plain:
The powerful must punish, every time.
Compliant, weak, whatever path you choose,
In life you will inevitably lose.
Thursday, 9 June 2022
Government Guidelines: Intention to Expel
by Nick Gisburne
Priority for higher-level genes,
An asset all our tenants must possess,
Permits us to remove, by any means,
Inferiors infecting this address.
A Notice of Intention to Expel
Is hereby served, to you, and to your spouse.
A reconditioned separation cell
Replaces, by default, your former house.
Accommodation quotas have increased
In public slums and segregation zones.
Expect to share your dwelling with at least
Another nine disturbed or damaged clones.
Resistance is a capital offence.
Resettlement, by force, will now commence.
Priority for higher-level genes,
An asset all our tenants must possess,
Permits us to remove, by any means,
Inferiors infecting this address.
A Notice of Intention to Expel
Is hereby served, to you, and to your spouse.
A reconditioned separation cell
Replaces, by default, your former house.
Accommodation quotas have increased
In public slums and segregation zones.
Expect to share your dwelling with at least
Another nine disturbed or damaged clones.
Resistance is a capital offence.
Resettlement, by force, will now commence.