{"id":567,"date":"2025-07-28T18:39:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T18:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/2025\/07\/28\/fragments-of-frost-and-fire-episode-12-how-that-worked-out-90\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T18:39:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T18:39:00","slug":"fragments-of-frost-and-fire-episode-12-how-that-worked-out-90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/2025\/07\/28\/fragments-of-frost-and-fire-episode-12-how-that-worked-out-90\/","title":{"rendered":"Fragments of Frost and Fire – Episode 12 – How That Worked Out."},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world unraveling\u2014from genocide in Gaza to war in Ukraine and Congo, from rising fascism to ecological collapse\u2014many choose silence, hoping distance will spare them. But silence is not neutral. It is not protection. This poem is a reflection on complicity, comfort, and the cost of staying quiet while the world burns.<\/p>\n

How That Worked Out<\/h1>\n
\n

\u2014a poem for the age of excuses<\/em><\/h2>\n

\n

The children of Gaza do not dream of war,<\/div>\n
but they wake beneath it,<\/div>\n
wrapped in dust and grief and headlines<\/div>\n
written by cowards.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

In Congo, the river carries<\/div>\n
the weight of our luxury\u2014<\/div>\n
blood-colored cobalt,<\/div>\n
futures mined by hands too small<\/div>\n
for the machines they power.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

And still, the world scrolls,<\/div>\n
safe in its distance,<\/div>\n
safe in its silence.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

The forest doesn\u2019t argue with the axe.<\/div>\n
The ocean doesn\u2019t plead with the net.<\/div>\n
They remain silent, wanting only to live\u2014<\/div>\n
and they die anyway.<\/div>\n
Those who say silence protects you<\/div>\n
should ask the land how that worked out.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Photo by Anderson Santos: https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/woman-doing-a-quiet-hand-sign-3628340\/<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Ukraine cracks open beneath missiles and meaning.<\/div>\n
Another empire dreams in tanks.<\/div>\n
And fascism comes dressed for church,<\/div>\n
whispers through school boards and cable news,<\/div>\n
sings lullabies about freedom<\/div>\n
while drawing borders in the dark.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

The heat climbs and we call it weather.<\/div>\n
The storms scream and we call it rare.<\/div>\n
Icebergs sob into rising seas,<\/div>\n
but we turn up the A\/C<\/div>\n
and ask for straws.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s safer not to look.<\/div>\n
Safer not to speak.<\/div>\n
Safer to convince ourselves<\/div>\n
that silence is kindness,<\/div>\n
that comfort is neutral,<\/div>\n
that we are not involved.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

But we are.<\/div>\n
We are the net.<\/div>\n
We are the axe.<\/div>\n
We are the hand that looks away<\/div>\n
and the hand that still signs checks.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Say it louder:<\/div>\n
The forest doesn\u2019t argue with the axe.<\/div>\n
The ocean doesn\u2019t plead with the net.<\/div>\n
They remain silent, wanting only to live\u2014<\/div>\n
and they die anyway.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\n

So what will you say<\/div>\n
when the silence comes for you?<\/div>\n
What comfort will you find<\/div>\n
when the sky forgets<\/div>\n
how to forgive?<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a world unraveling\u2014from genocide in Gaza to war in Ukraine and Congo, from rising fascism to ecological collapse\u2014many choose silence, hoping distance will spare them. But silence is not neutral. It is not protection. This poem is a reflection on complicity, comfort, and the cost of staying quiet while the world burns. How That…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","slim_seo":{"title":"Fragments of Frost and Fire - Episode 12 - How That Worked Out. - Lawrence Nault","description":"In a world unraveling\u2014from genocide in Gaza to war in Ukraine and Congo, from rising fascism to ecological collapse\u2014many choose silence, hoping distance will sp"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawrencenault.me\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}