The Politician / Politicians

1       The Politician

Like a virus in search of a host
       like a pathogen out on the prowl
like a microbe that boasts of having the most
              always playing to the credulous crowd

       the politician
       true  to his unstated mission   lives to infect

and by striking voters at their gullible best
              aims  to hoodwink a number sufficient
to sanction the feathering of his self-serving nest;

a number sufficient  to bring to fruition
the deepest desires of his venal ambition

       to feast   off the sweetly surreptitious
       delectably lucrative  deliciously dishonest
       off-the-record perks that enrich official office.


An image-driven  media-savvy
snappy-dressing  glad-hand-happy
                     undercover corporate lackey

a bona fide  photo-opping fake
a greasy weasel   a canny chameleon
                     a shifty well-groomed snake

       make no mistake
       he's a poor excuse for a man
       with a tailored suit his can't-miss plan
       an insincere smile tattooed on his face
       a ubiquitous mitt reaching out for a shake

              and just in case
              the occasion should call for a hug
              his tactical arms are always in place
                     to cynically milk a phony embrace.


2       Politicians

Born to schmooze
and abuse their constituents' misplaced trust
pols   feed off the bodies of tax-induced dues

              (much   as the needs of hungry rust
              are met by the flesh of fresh wet steel)

and when not hustling funds for upcoming runs
they're just as busy with the parallel business
of furthering  their even more personal interests
                     and those of their principal backers

       under the ageless shameless cover
       of ostensibly acting on behalf of the masses
              for the good of their sisters and brothers.


Genuine   buzzword lobbing
platitude spewing   slogan tossing
                     sound bite dropping fakes

devious weasels   cunning chameleons
                     slick   unprincipled snakes

       as practiced as they are
       at raising rattling great rackets
                     for all to hear and watch
                     each time they trot out a promise

              they're still more skilled at slithering off
              to where they're neither seen nor heard
                                   the instant time arrives
                                   to keep their dubious word.


Paragons of hypocrisy   pillars of mendacity
       straining to maintain their altruistic fiction
                     politicians   are towers of tenacity

in fighting for the right to be shallow and hollow
and the privilege of pretending to selflessly lead
while the facts insist they do little but follow
the wishes and whims of their ungoverned greed.

This article was posted on Sunday, November 14th, 2021 at 8:03am and is filed under Poetry.