Demise of a Despot

 

Our despot must expire

it could happen any number of ways

 

in the way of Caesar, and the 20 Senators

in the way of Verwoerd, in the halls of government

in the way of Gaddafi, in a hole in the ground

in the way of Adolf, in an underground bunker

in the way of Heydrich, in a roadside car

in the way of Oswald, in front of cameras

in the way of the Czar, against a wall

in the way of Shinzo Abe, on a podium

in the way of Mussolini, left to hang like a polyp

in the way of Louis the King, absent his head

in the way of Juvénal Habyarimana, pricked from the sky

in the way of any of these ways, or one of the many other ways that are possible

 

Our despot must expire

rotten fruit must fall

but the harvest is best when the fruit is ripe