By Selwyn Duke
In light of what's happening in our country, with certain people empowering demagogues, I've decided to republish a poem I wrote many, many years ago. It speaks of the plight of the useful idiot. Yes, I am a poet (occasionally) and you didn't know it.
The Charmer
The tyrant threw tantrums, but effective not was he.
Too diminutive he was, just nigh to a knee.
He grew and learned of graces, gentle suasion and guile,
Smooth talk, sartorial splendor, and a twinkling smile.
Change had come upon him, so a tyrant he was no more,
He was a man among men, a charmer one could adore.
Taken people were with his words and noble bearing,
His earnestness, his charity, how he’d always be so caring.
His politeness was unfailing, and what he did find,
Is t’was his shield of armor, making others respond in kind.
They made the Charmer a leader of men, and as he rose through the ranks,
He abided by protocol and niceties, never failing to say “thanks.”
Finally he sat at the helm of his great nation,
His charm and others’ omission having won him his great station.
But even this lofty status satisfied not what lay beneath,
The Charmer wanted his birthright; it was time to bear his teeth.
Success was not denied him, and as he sat in the seat of power,
Absolute control was in his hands, and his greatest gift came to flower.
No more to pay homage to the traditions of men,
His will could be imposed with a stroke of his pen.
T’was then those who loved the Charmer could only gnash their teeth and cry,
As they were marched to lonely fields and camps, so soon they were to die.
Dumbfounded they were, not knowing what they did sow,
“What happened to the Charmer?” was all they wanted to know.
They pined after their great leader, whom they held so dear,
And wondered, in disbelief, “How could this happen here?”
And uttering their last, as the executioner stood ready to wrack,
They exclaimed, “Our beloved Charmer has been deposed, and the tyrant has come back!”
By Selwyn Duke
selwynduke.com 