Thursday, March 10, 2016

King Harlequin


image from tombanwell.blogspot.com


King Harlequin 

“Clowns have often had ambiguous and sometimes
contradictory roles to play.”--Thomas Ligotti.

With the Donald marching to victory, how could I stay
in my right mind? For puzzlement now just sits

smugly on logic’s face, while a very dark dirge plays
on speakers unseen, pushing me to my wit’s

demise--where chaos reigns & nothing fits.
Is this all just a macabre nightmarish comedy

where rules become jokes & common sense flits
like a butterfly with shredded wings? A real tragedy

is being performed, but camouflaged to the eye,
a Punch & Judy show, leagues away from being smart.

It does not help to lament, whine or cry,
nor reveal the wounds to your broken heart.

For surely in the future the people will moan
as lies morph into fascism carved in stone.




Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets MTB


22 comments:

Mary said...

Indeed it does not help to lament as this macabre tragedy is being performed. I do hope,however, that people wake up & the nation regains its common sense before fascism IS cast in stone! A cautionary tale.

brudberg said...

We seem have been going along the same path - when the world turns brown we have reached a sad stage... The last couplet is great.

Gayle Walters Rose said...

Ugh, I shudder to think of what we may have on our hands in the near future...so many are delusional.

Matthew Henningsen said...

This is a very nice poem... expertly crafted. I really like not just your subject, but how you write about it. The freak show of it all. The absurdity.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Brilliant - especially the closing lines :D

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Sad state of affairs Glenn - I really do worry for this world of ours. The lunatics have taken over the asylum and it seems many folk are happy...
Kind regards
Anna :o]

Grace said...

Love the title, picture & reading Glenn ~ I too am sad by the turn of politics and we really dread it from happening too ~ I think we are seeing some of your folks thinking of moving to Canada ~ Well done ~

Hannah said...

Scary really...shredded wings indeed. Excellent work!

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

Beautifully written.

It sure is looking that way. I hope you're wrong.

Victoria said...

The next few primaries are going to be so crucial. I'm holding my breath. Skillfully crafted, Glenn.

Truedessa said...

A brilliant commentary in poetic form. I too am in puzzlement and worry about the future.

purplepeninportland.com said...

Glenn, this is beyond brilliant in its sadness and truth. Love the ending.

vivinfrance said...

I'm halfway through reading Ken Follett's Winter of the World, about the rise of fascism. It's happening again, God help us. Your poem says it like it is.

Anonymous said...

A powerful poem.
I can't add more
to what has been said before!

Petru J Viljoen said...

It's madness. The terrible support for Trump after a guy like Obama. You wrote the despair well. It's just as bad here in South Africa. Us people must take the power back. It's hard work and we've gone complacent and are too easily satisfied with the merest morsels politicians throw at us.

AnotherFearlessYear.net said...

This is terrific! Madness and tragedy for sure. I see nothing comedic in the supporters of Trump. But it is true, it does no good to whine or cry.

kaykuala said...

It was a tragedy that it was found out at all. But when it did it was a tad too late. Politicians seemed to be the same everywhere. The Donald might just fit this bill as he seemed to have a strange stranglehold on those who attended his talks.

Hank

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Excellent!!!! It is absolutely frightening.....and so many from outside the US are looking at us and laughing and wondering how in the hell this can be happening. Perhaps most frightening....is that there are large numbers who support him. I am fearful....

said...

You always pick THE BEST quotes.

This is my favorite part:
"puzzlement now just sits
smugly on logic’s face while a very dark dirge plays
on speakers unseen"

... And also the ending:
"people will moan
as lies morph into fascism carved in stone"

I love Donald Trump. :X

Kathy Reed said...

Yes!!

Anonymous said...

YES, this hit the spot, thank you....

Katie Mia Frederick said...

Trump.. card of
soul core now
true antichrist
evangelist
groupS iS
what makes
money maker
rulers happy
iN tHeir
small
brick
bible
homes
of exclusions
iN fear and hate.. now
comes to dark and hovers
over lies when truth finally comes out..
ALIVE
as liGht
away
from
dArk
Trump
flowers of
fear and hate..
SENT by way of
votes for dArk..
it is both sad.. amusing..
and a tribute to the darkest
of the
human
condition
iN closed
minded way..:)