Monday's Poetry: "Letter to a Tyrant"

by Pa Rock
Poetry Appreciator

Donald Trump is on another Twitter tear, this morning waging an all-out attack on the FBI.  That, of course, is an old and continuing tactic in Trump's playbook.  Any time he is criticized or senses danger, he lashes out with a barrage of accusations intended to de-legitimize his potential accusers.  As David Leonhardt pointed out in the editorial pages of today's New York Times: 

(Trump) "has previously done (the same thing) with C.I.A. agents, federal judges, scientists, Congress Budget Office analysts and journalists, among others.  The president wants to undercut just about anybody who is an independent source of information."

Trump wants the focus to be on him, and not his wide array of critics and accusers.   He is a constant victim and he suffers well in the bright lights of public attention.  His cunning and guile are limitless, and he literally knows no shame.

Donald Trump is, in the true spirit of a third-world dictator, a despot who has no intention of ever becoming enlightened.

Today's selection, "Letter to a Tyrant," is by Nigerian poet Ephraim Nnawihe, a relatively unknown man of letters who nevertheless managed to capture the character of a despotic individual in just a few lines.   Nnawihe's tyrant bears an uncanny resemblance to our own - and his last line offers a glimmer of hope in our long struggle to resist the craziness emanating from the executive branch.


Letter to a Tyrant
by Ephraim Nnawhie

You claim to be a boss to me
And forcefully have your way in me
I may be your assistant
But please keep your distance
I cant stand your uncivilized manner
With all due respect sir ''you are mad."

You gain your way to the top
But take away water from our cup
Rendering people homeless gives you joy
You can break or amend as though we are your toy
With all due respect sir ''you are wicked."

You know much well you cant earn our votes
So you rig the polls and make us scapegoats
You turn female graduates to prostitute
You are a goodman that kills the truth
With all due respect sir ''you are a fraud."

I will bring transformation to our nation
No nepotism, no discrimination
But you loot our nation's treasures
To satisfy your endless pleasures
With all due respect sir ''you are a thief."

You claim to be a man of peace
But kill our children, tear them piece by piece
You spill our father's blood
To prove..you are a lord
With all due respect sir ''you are an animal."

Time shall come when the earth shall speak
Kill all those things that make you tick
And then the trees shall ring the bells
And birds of the earth your tale shall tell
And the most feeble creature shall say to thee
With all due respect sir ''you are under arrest."