GRANT NOT POWER TO THESE DEMONS OF DARK...

To DEMONS that echo their lies, their illusions, their taunts, their disquiet. The plea is heard, the poet responds...

GRANT NOT POWER TO THESE DEMONS OF DARK...

Grant not power to these demons of dark
Hush hush their haunts erase their mark
Be free of judgments and reprisals cruel
TRUTH and SPIRIT of SELF in light anew to rule
Addict me not to a false quieting of the pain I feel
Make the liberation from a shadowed self a beauty real
MASK not these agonies of the abiding soul
No longer allow deception to demand a toll
Pay not the price of life relegated to sorrow
Live the promise held within each tomorrow
Depression be not a donned cloak of despair
Hold the Faith yet borne of GOD's loving care
The gift of life and power of will in your story be told
Hail each breath, the cleansing, 'tis the alchemist's gold
See behind the MASK beyond the veil
See the denied pain that is yet to prevail
The masquerade and pretense held to conceal
The SELF that TRUTH alone is to reveal
Reveal, I hear this blessed command
Cloak not the quiver of shadow close at hand
Remove pretense and the MASK donned to conceal
The TRUTH, the deep knowing, this knowing real
Confront and resolve, the supernal summons a call
Beyond all consideration, TRUTH to lay bear ALL
To the plea of this petition I to heed
For TRUTH, 'tis ever the rightful creed.

Rose Marie Raccioppi
Poet Laureate
Orangetown, New York

A Companion Statement to My Poem, Grant Not Power to These Demons of Dark

In a world where suffering is too often hidden behind silence, denial, or profit, we are called to remember the sacred truth of our shared humanity. My poem is a petition — a plea for awakening — and this statement stands beside it as a vow.
We must not allow the forces that thrive in darkness to shape our conscience or our culture. When harm becomes tolerable, when exploitation is ignored, when the vulnerable are left unseen, the moral fabric of our society begins to unravel.

This is a call to reclaim our moral responsibility — individually and collectively.

A call to see what has been hidden.
A call to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
A call to honor the sanctity of life in every person.

Truth is not merely an ideal; it is a force of liberation.
Compassion is not optional; it is the measure of our humanity.
Awareness is not passive; it is an act of courage.

Let us stand together in the belief that every life holds inviolable worth.
Let us refuse to look away from suffering or injustice.
Let us choose to be the light that reveals, heals, and restores.

We will not be silent.
We will not be indifferent.
We will not surrender our humanity to darkness.

This is our creed — to uphold truth, to honor life, and to protect the vulnerable with unwavering resolve.

— Rose Marie Raccioppi

Poet Laureate, Orangetown, New York