They threatened him with dire consequences,
Ruffians roughed up his loved ones,
Unruly mobs demolished his publication equipment,
Terror squads squashed his passionate followers,
Hoodlums closed down his fledgling newspaper.
Acrid allegations were leveled against him,
Liars conspired to hasten his downfall,
Witnesses were purchased; the jury was bribed,
Accounts were frozen; political games were played.
Yet, he braved on, continuing his unequal struggle,
Suffering unimaginable horrors, he exposed the corrupt system.
Public outcry reached a crescendo,
Revolutions ignited in every nook and corner,
Effigies were burnt; politicians scampered for cover,
Victims valiantly came forward; the system soon crumbled.
Anew order emerged; he became a hero,
Intellectuals chartered a vibrant democratic constitution,
Laws were enacted; his dreams finally became a reality.
Swords and scimitars can never subjugate the mighty PEN.
Some Trivia on Acrostic writing
An acrostic poem or script is a cryptographic form in which the first letter of each line spells out a word, often the subject of the poem or the name of the person to whom the poem is dedicated.
The first known acrostics date back to ancient times: The name “acrostic” was first used to describe the prophecies of the Erithraean Sibyl, which were written on leaves arranged so that the first letter on each leaf formed a word.
Most acrostics in the past 200 years have been written as poems for children or cryptographic valentines addressed to a secret lover. But rather than using acrostics to write hymns of praise to their leaders or loved ones, some contemporary writers have embedded acrostic insults in their writings so they are not visible to their objects or government censors.
Some famous examples of acrostic writing can be as below :
• “Hymn I, of Astraea” by Sir John Davies (1599)
• “Hymn III, To the Spring” by Sir John Davies (1599)
• “Hymn VII,To the Rose” by Sir John Davies (1599)
• “London” by William Blake (1794)
• “A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky” by Lewis Carroll (1871)