Thursday, February 28, 2019

Quagmire Now




Iraqi Quagmire by latuffdeviantart. com


Quagmire Now

“My words in her mind; cold polished stones
sinking through a quagmire.”--James Joyce.

The world today is a worrisome place.
Almost war between India and Pakistan.
A very satisfied smirk on Kim Jong Um’s face.
Cohen paints Trump as racist, cheat, & con man.

Almost war between India and Pakistan.
Some hostilities are many centuries old.
Cohen paints Trump as racist, cheat, & con man.
In politics, the truth is hardly ever told.

Some hostilities are many centuries old.
Strife in Israel echos grievances from the past.
In politics, the truth is hardly ever told.
Changing minds cannot be accomplished fast.

Strife in Israel echos grievances from the past.
A very satisfied smirk on Kim Jong Um’s face.
Changing minds cannot be accomplished fast.
The world today is a worrisome place.



Glenn Buttkus

Pantoum

Post over at dVerse Poets Pub MTB

13 comments:

Gina said...

a satirical pantoum that sounds so classical yet modern at the same time. tackling issues well known across the world. love how you connect the false smile which reflects false promises from all the sweet tongued politicians. i say classical because in days of old here in Malaysia pantoum was used in much the same way in town hall meetings to elicit a response from our government reps.

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

Oh, excellently done; what a great choice of topic and great treatment of it.

Jade Li said...

Glenn, I appreciate the current situation of your pantoum, the form fits it well. Gina, interesting to hear pantoum served such a purpose in Malaysia!

Sabio Lantz said...

Excellent, young man, excellent. Loved it. You honored the rhyme and the pattern and kept each verse independently wonderful

Frank Hubeny said...

Good observation: "In politics, the truth is hardly ever told."

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Ah, you use the form so well in a timely way. "In politics the truth is hardly ever told" --- what a truism! Even in the best of times (and this country is certainly not there), that statement rings true. uh huh --- or then there's alternate facts. I still laugh at that one -- although it's really not funny at all that people can float that by and folks don't even seem to mind!

robkistner said...

Kick ass Glenn, absolutely kick ass! And you powerfully and most effectively built a straight-to-the-head political bullet seamlessly over the Pantoum framework. This was really good stuff dude, really good!

Merril D. Smith said...

So timely--I can't argue with it all--but so well done in the pantoum form. I think it's fascinating that Gina said this is how the pantoum was used in Malaysia.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

It is indeed a worrisome place. It must be hard to be a young person these days. But maybe they will be the ones to turn things around.

purplepeninportland.com said...

So well done on a timely topic. Works beautifully as a pantoum.

Kim M. Russell said...

I’m sorry for the late response, Glenn, but I’ve been pretty much off-line while staying with my daughter. Yours is the first political pantoum I’ve read so far - it works well, it’s up-to-date and, unlike in politics, where the truth is hardly ever told, you’ve told it like it is!

Georgina said...

Am amazed how this form can be used. A great up to date on the news poem! I love the smirk as it's an insight I have missed but the repetition echoes the worries of one week and the links to past grievances. Complex but flows with poetic grace.

Truedessa said...

Indeed the world is a worrisome place and some of us feel it more than others. You have captured real world issues as only you can. You have a strong voice Glenn may it always be so.