POET'S NOOSE
By
Chief Swift Eagle

I'd rather be a poet
A jester, clown, buffoon,
They think of you as harmless.
They'll always give you room.

Yet I can use a word or phrase
As skillfully as a scalpel
With subtle innuendo
Build a stairway to the scaffold.

The stairs can lead dictator
To lofts above their peers
And let them take their bows
To shouts they think are cheers.

And while they're smiling broadly,
My words can form a noose
Which gains its strength from people
Who put their trust in truth.

Grinning politician, you're lower than
a snake.
Glad-hand politician, you're a hopeless rake
Forked tongue fits two faces
Which you have made enough
To speak to all the issues
From all sides soft and tough.

It seems you somehow manage
To let each person hear
Exactly what they each expect,
Embrace what they hold dear.

I'd rather be a poet
Who with word picture paints
A politician's portrait
So folks can smell the taint

I'd rather be a poet
A jester, clown, buffoon,
They think of you as harmless.
They'll always give you room.

Copyrights 1987 - All Rights Reserved

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