Bamboozle

by Carol Kanter / February 22nd, 2026

A fun word to say,
to play around with

Tom’s clever way
to paint that fence

Gullible pals taken
under sway while

we readers Hooray!
But let’s not cheer

when brazen leaders
prey on compatriots

use bald-faced lies,
bribes—such clever

fun bamboozlings—
and where those fail

stoop to create reigns
of all out terror.

Carol Kanter’s poetry appears in over ninety journals and three chapbooks: Out of Southern Africa and Chronicle of Dog (FinishingLine Press); Of Water (Peterborough Poetry Project). She paired poems with her husband’s photographs for four coffee-table books (www.DualArtsPress.com). A psychotherapist, Carol authored And Baby Makes Three, which explores the emotional transitions to parenthood. Read other articles by Carol.

This article was posted on Sunday, February 22nd, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.