Two Stump Speeches

“Some chose to run, many to hide

Inside their temples and rooms,

Where every one of them died

In incendiary tombs.

I ignore the mourning fog

Outside and inside my mind,

Hand in hand with Gog in Magog

And all the rest of my kind.

“What are these floods and fires

And stupidity admirers

(Viruses in a cracked petri jar)?

How can I fight the coming war

We’re already losing day by day

As I run, slower and slower, away?”

Actor’s Mask

Hiieee! Hiieeea! Hi! Hiiee! Hi! Hi!

Look closely, now. I am cellophane thin,

Imbued by hand with the hues of a lie

And the pentimento of ancient sin.

I hide my eyes with a mendacious squint

And my thoughts with an enigmatic grin.

My hair and skin share a fiery tint.

I am both angelic and indecent.

On stage, politicians deliver speech

After speech and reveal what?, you will ask.

All actors pour out their souls, each to each,

All for naught — only I can mask a mask.