The Carrot Of It All

By Cliff Lake

 

The Carrot Of It All

 

O, the anticipation!

The thing wanted and withheld!

The promise just ahead,

Clearly available,

Just beyond the grasp!

O, the anticipation!

 

See the finaglers,

The arrangers,

The slippery sinister!

They parade justice as a newfound banner,

They vaunt piety even as their sin is sung out.

See their finger point away,

Always away.

 

O, the anticipation!

The engine guns forward,

The load still undelivered,

The car is empty,

The hunger remains.

O, the anticipation!

 

They have consulted each the other,

The unspoken remains guarded yet!

Not all bulwarks are breached,

The keep remains.

A feigned retreat,

A sleight of hand,

A seeming compromise.

Give the rabble what they want,

In word, not deed.

The show must go on.

 

O, the anticipation!

See the curtain rise!

See the curtain behind the curtain!

Does it yet conceal?

Is there naught but brick beyond?

O, the anticipation!

 

See the master of ceremonies!

His promised reveal:

A conjurer’s ruse,

The rabbit has yet to escape the hat.

His assistants twirl and pirouette,

A dance to amaze,

And signify nothing.

Their mouth noises prattle,

Nothing is said.

Their ears prick,

Nothing is heard.

Their eyes close,

Nothing is shown.

 

O, the anticipation!

The thing pledged and concealed,

The avowal misremembered,

Denied and then carroted again.

Just beyond the grasp…

O, the anticipation!

 

Just you wait.

And wait.

And wait…

 

Cliff Lake 11/18/2025

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2025

Location: Washington, DC, USA

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