Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Ballad of Bathos


image from vinileshop.it


Ballad of Bathos

“I know you need your sleep now,
I know your life’s been hard,
But many men are falling
Where you promised to stand guard.”
--Leonard Cohen.

I know you pride yourself
as an outsider, a maverick,
never trapped on a shelf;
but your very best trick 

was to convince a lot of us
that you felt our pain,
that you understood our fuss,
that we all could ride on your train.

So here we are 6 months in,
with so many bodies under the bus,
with empty platitudes creating a din,
as America shops for a truss.

My God, sir--Nazis are marching,
and people are dying,
as you take refuge in your tower,
kiss golden toilets & stroke your power.

It is sad so many of us are already old
and will not live to actually see
your piggy mouth fill up with mold
as the country regains sweet liberty.



Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub

15 comments:

brudberg said...

I think that letting this so called alt-right will be his fall.. what scares me most is in what direction he will fall... Complacency is sometimes all that's needed.

Frank Hubeny said...

There are a lot of people feeling political tensions. Best wishes and may there be relief from the pains felt.

Amber said...

You express your points well - loud and clear!

purplepeninportland.com said...

Crystal clear and scary as hell, Glenn. Leonard Cohen - excellent choice of song.

tonispencer said...

Nazis and alt-right and alt-left have been marching for years causing madness and mayhem. I pray for peace. somehow I knew you were going to choose a song by Leonard Cohen!

Truedessa said...

Cohen, one of my favorites - 6 months in and he is the master of deceit.

Anonymous said...

powerful word choices. wow

Maria said...

Let there be peace.. Great write.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Bravo! I hope i live at least long enough to see this bunch gone. What a disaster.

Katie Mia Frederick said...

HeARTAMuSCLE
EXeRCiSEoRNoT
LivEOrDiENoW
LeTLoVELiVELiGHT
WitH
SMiLesx2
In Letters
And Numbers
Of SonG and
Holy and
Sacred
Steps
As
Dance oF LiGHT
Steps TRuE LoVE
PurENoW MoRE..
You too mY FriEnd..
Zee.. Glenn too.. as Art
GRows
Free
Ocean
WHole..
In other news
The Face of Hate
Does its best to Justify tHaT LiVinG Death..
Sad SonG DancE When Love Leaves
A BAll Room oF LiGHTLiFE
NoW iS anYone
ELse iN thiS
ENtire
LA
Lower
Alabama
Panhandle
oF FloWeRS
STronG EnouGH
To DancE and SinG NaY..
WiLL See WiLL Be or NoT..
And alWays YeS For FB FriEnd Glenn
For Be Not Afraid oF SHiNiNG LiGht oN Hate...
but sure..
he's
from
Seattle..;)

Mish said...

That train should never have left the station...
Stellar choice for lyrical inspiration. Love me some Leonard Cohen.

Judith said...

Leonard Cohen...so befitting these frightening times we are undergoing and this powerful and hard-hitting poem. I used to watch dystopian flicks, now it appears we are living in one.

Anonymous said...

A poem shot from the hip by the hip.Well penned sir.

indybev said...


This is BRILLIANT, Glenn. So many sly acerbic nuggets of truth! BRAVO

Alison H said...

The world has indeed gone mad. But where will it end, spilt milk before dawn, dictatorship...who knows.