Not Poetry. Quatrain Verse in English & Swedish. Dagsverser. On the Mundane & the Arcane.
Found too light when in action weighed
too many losing hands played?
Sheltering in verbiage’s shade
nerves shot & memory frayed?
Why do suffer ourselves talking
when from vital subjects strayed
avoiding, defending, balking
by flawed perspectives waylaid?
As well wise not to opine
on someone else’s hemline
Lightning storms of ‘insight’
turned but fleeting gales
though did flash clear & bright
verbalizing fails
Pen limply sadly sags
Hand shaking, fumbling
Vocabulary gags
Crisp paper crumbling
Breakthrough just on the brink
yet another reversal!
Wasted sumptuous ink
on what turned mere rehearsal
Attempted cheaply gallant
in overreaching quest
Been courting Blessed Talent
who cold shoulders my zest
Our faces turning craggy
Synapses misfiring
Jowls & butts sinking saggy
Worn thinly brain’s wiring
Daily routines found conspiring
full of setbacks & wrinkles
New challenges cause perspiring
Long since we felt goose pimples
Civility sorely lagging
Screeched promotions propitious
abound posturing & bragging
pitches puffed-up, suspicious
No punishment but reward
when in old age we’re ignored
+)
-propitious = indicative of favor; presenting favorable circumstances
-wrinkle = a trick or dodge; crease in the skin
Overseas millions killed, maimed
Their plight we belittle
concern rarely even feigned
to change noncommittal
Worn narrative straining
nation’s honor stained
In an empire waning
integrity sprained
The President’s smooth hollow words
just shows up paralysis
whether on climate, jobs or Kurds
Bring on urinalysis:
Enough specious words
by Ivy League nerds!
+)
-president = written originally under Obama
-urinalysis = here: to identify those ‘high’ on Imperial hubris
Mortal Socrates and Jesus Divine
left behind not a single written line
Since then many others have rather
penned in infinite profusion
Much, be it elegant, still blather
compounding human confusion
Swift, countless like birds
in shrieking flock
failing, flailing words
of squawk & schlock
Awkward sentences churning
leave us achingly yearning
Verbosity’s mercenary
he speaks when unnecessary
as the lights of restraint
these days flicker but faint
No blather too arbitrary
Our quick, impatient words
flapping in ad lib
like flocks of ‘take off’ birds
swift, screeching & glib
Our phrases cheerfully poured
over facts, rationale
‘cleverness points’ to be scored
regardless of morale
‘Rolling off tongue’ phrases
sink without a trace
scattered in odd places
as bystanders brace
While endless subjects of banality
keep splashing amongst the plurality
Why must I be bored daily
told sports metaphors frail
celebrity quotes gaily
and commercial quips pale?
How does the majority
sunk in deep nescience
think they’ve the authority
to demand compliance
with their endless tedious prattle
spouting threadbare cliches & tattle?
The Empire of Denial
continues to beguile
By propaganda’s vial
clicking heals, shouting ‘heil’
U.S. lost in winless warring
yet still keeps persevering
Think by ‘doubling down’ they’re scoring
pretending to hear cheering!
The Elite keeps us Populace stirred
Reality & Fantasy blurred
Written in 2015
First couple of Empire
so tall, fit and lean
leading us in quagmire
smiling, waiving, preen.
While both o so chichi
ain’t he a bit preachy?
Should’ve minded caveat emptor
of “Change You Can Believe In”!
stuck with “Hope and Change” Emperor
who proves ever deceiving.
Misses no chance to endorse
while he’s killing by drone
‘The World’s Finest Fighting Force’.
Predecessors’ true clone.
“We left Iraq”, says he, “Heads held high!”
How (aghast!) can that be, why?
When million people had to die
still nothing sensed gone awry?!
+)
-chichi = showily or affectedly elegant or trendy
-‘heads held high’ = “The last American soldier will cross the border out
of Iraq with their head held high, proud of their success and knowing
that the American people stand united in our support for our troops”
– Obama, Oct 2011