False Flag

By Cliff Lake

 

False Flag

 

And so the low itch begins:

Not with a flash and a bang,

But with the soft plop

Of the indulged bottom hitting the floor

Its owner having trod

On the banana peel

Most of us were expecting.

See him come farting out of the gate,

An imitation of a cartoon criminal,

White-booted and sticky-fingered,

Yet with a mouth full

Of malformed intention.

A buffoonery that has wielded

Improper powers,

And would foist them nationally,

Clownishly or no.

Now comes the background noise:

Weirded advertisements too easily ignored,

Or mocked by the clever,

But appealing to the low-purposed.

A replacement for an idol tarnished,

Now too defamed for surety of triumph.

Now comes the low buzz irritating,

A cheap barrage of listless clamor,

Ignored but heard anyway,

A cacophony from a distance,

All sour note and garish blare.

Here then is the snare:

A veneer of burlesque and caricature,

And beneath: vileness and cruelty

Proposed as virtue and righteousness.

Nothing is as it seems here…

Peel back the lout

And find the villain.

Smiles contain teeth,

Laughs disguise savagery,

Missteps can still propel.

The rocky start

May allow the man to set his feet.

That background noise may say everything.

The watch begins.

 

Cliff Lake 5/25/2023

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

Location: 700 N Adams St, Tallahassee, FL 32303, USA

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