Society Is A Donkey
John Jessup Kennan 1953 (Pomona)
The philosophers are out here drinkin hemlock
You're the tonic in their Bombay gin
Moaning such soulfully wretched depths
With Nero backing you on violin
I was just a sound man with an earache
When your scarlet saints came marching in
Came to town and burned it down
And now ya wanna burn it down again
You say you came to save me from myself
I don't know who you think I think you are
Livin on the burn ward where you lick my wounds
And praise the beauty of my scars
You say I should sign over my birthright
You would take it from me at my own behest
Invisible ink in stolen plumes
Poison feathers pillowing my nest
You can cut out my tongue
I'll still speak out against thee
You can burn out my eyes
They will hear what I see
Cut out this sacred heart
It still beats unafraid
That one in you already beaten
That price already paid
Philosophers pat each other on the head
Tell themselves we're all doing swell
Productive members of a society
Conjured in a sorcerer's synthetic hell
The magnificent deeds of the human
One day very soon will come to pass
Destructive members of society
Society is a three-legged Ass
I hear your power lines crackle
A crow's cacaphonic tune
Cackling from your mystic tents
By the light of the silvery rune
I'd rather mourn with the righteous
Than share in the laughter of fools
If you wanna play silly spiritual games
It would be wise to learn spiritual rules
You can cut out my tongue
I'll still speak out against thee
You can burn out my eyes
They will hear what I see
Cut out this sacred heart
It still beats unafraid
That one in you already beaten
That price already paid
© John Kennan 5-8-21
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Submitted by rankstranger7 on May 24, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:34 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | xaxaxaxx xxxxxbxb CDEDFGHG xidihjdj xkxkxlxl CDEDFGHG h |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,585 |
Words | 307 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 1 |
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"Society Is A Donkey" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100943/society-is-a-donkey>.
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