Friday, February 22, 2019

The Secretary-General at Midnight

February 23, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is politics, in honor of Presidents Day, which is celebrated on February 20.

I welcome comments on my poems at https://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A political poem about an imaginary Secretary-General of the United Nations thinking about the possibility of a nuclear holocaust:

The Secretary-General at midnight
Having spent a long day on his knees:
Even as the Earth twirls towards twilight,
Sovereign states do ever as they please,
Each doomed along with all, as none foresees.
Challenged, the one nation that must lead
Reiterates its reasons to refuse,
Even as the barracuda breed,
Threatening a game that all must lose,
A chance no gambler, crazed or drunk, would choose.
Restricted to the power of persuasion,
Yielding, naturally, but scant success;
Given but the stature of his station,
Eliciting fine words to please the press;
Near desperate, he starts slowly to undress.
Elevate your legs, he thinks, and then
Reclines as usual, and then again
Alights, and feels the Earth beneath him spin,
Longing more and more for less and less.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thesec.html. For more political poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/politicalpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Politics
2/22: First Step
2/23: The Secretary-General at Midnight

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