Bellwether

At first it was nothing – a thought, a cough in a gale
then just a voice, then another, till none could be heard
but all spoke as one. And some called it chatter
and some called it rumour. And soon came a leader
 
who cut through the babble to what we were saying,
told us why and to who, and now we were more
than the sum of ourselves. Some called it bigotry,
others theology. On you led till nothing could
 
touch us, till each glance we caught looked away
and no challenge came. Loyal to a fault we pressed on
in your wake. To some a messiah, to the rest a base liar,
we were all on a bandwagon now and – hazard or bluff,
 
right to the brink – some called it hate, some called it love.
 

André Mangeot

in collection Blood Rain, 2020, Seren Books, ISBN 998-1- 78172-562-7