Poetry Corner: Oratory isn’t everything

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Poetry Corner

“If I spoke in the eloquence of a tongue

But did not mind to mean what I spoke

If I lived by oratory and fluency

But lived for nothing

I am nothing”

 

She traversed in poetry

But trampled on prose

She rustled feathers with speech

But bottled fears for free speech

She rattled speech to speak multi tongues

But muffled throats to eat their only tongue

We have taken to calling that one

…the Disappointing Appointee

 

Her acquired accent distinguished her from all orators

Her assumed enunciation separated her from all pretenders

When she spoke

They applauded how she spoke

Speaker after speaker

Raced to reach her peak

Speaker after speaker

Sought to peep into how she peaked

Still we do call that one

…the Disappointing Appointee

 

Neighbours heard she was so bilingual

Neighbours invited her to talk on red carpets

Many more neighbours

Drew near to hear the lingua franca

Neighbours never got disappointed at her eloquence

Her multi-accented tongue

Endeared her to all in her presence

Still we continue to call that one

…a Disappointing Appointee

 

When she spoke

They applauded what she spoke

What she uttered

Offered hope they needed

What she lectured

Was just what they expected

Utterance after utterance

Pandered to their unfulfilled desires

Lecture after lecture

Brought home more points to ponder

Still we want to call that one

…a highly Disappointing Appointee

 

Her speech invoked some passion

…for more action

Her speech addressed their silence

Her reactions were equal to their reactions

They followed her speeches wherever

For more action

…even for more satisfaction

Her speeches were an assault on the status quo

But when she acted

She acted not in their interest

So we call that one

…the most Disappointing Appointee

 

II

She ascended to a height so noble

Yet she assented to things so ignoble

That makes that one

…a highly Disappointing Appointee

 

“If I spoke with the tongue of the thoughtful one

But did not love the cause of the common man

If I rattled in tongues

But did nothing

I am nothing”

 

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