The welfare of the people in particular
has always been the alibi of tyrants,
and it provides the further advantage
of giving the servants of tyranny
a good conscience.
Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after, And the poetry he invented was easy to understand; He knew human folly like the back of his hand, And was greatly interested in armies and fleets; When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter, And when he cried the little children died in the streets
And a strange take on welfare tyrants have!
ReplyDeleteEpitaph on a Tyrant
ReplyDeleteby W. H. Auden (1939)
Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after,
And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;
He knew human folly like the back of his hand,
And was greatly interested in armies and fleets;
When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,
And when he cried the little children died in the streets
Jams,
ReplyDeletea very strange take.
Francis,
thank you for that.
A good one.