Hermes grasps his mossy world atop the ancient rotting plinth
A melodrama plays beneath his feet.
Watching they that nightly meet and duel with deadly razored tongues;
Whilst quaffing, deeply, drinking from the tankard of deceit.
Accessories to misadventure, sneering steering fate
Attired in silken finery and gilded laces, airs and graces
Strutting, preening counterparts and guests unto the proud Estate.
The cut and thrust of conversation parries back and forth,
To wit and wonder wordsmiths wind the way,
Of reputations ground beneath the fashionable leather heel;
And social standings crushed for sake of jape and idle play.
Symbol, system, metaphor – choose thy weaponry
But just because that you have eyes does not mean you can see.
Veiled threats over c***tails – Rigid Timings – s** and Money, Power and Art.
Poisoned smiles etched just so perfectly do grimace ‘pon their leaded faces…
You, Sir, speaking in a manner ill advised, and dressing in a fashion now chastised;
You seem to me as one disguised, despised and compromised.
And you, Sir, walking in a style now seen effete,
And whistling in a way ne’er seen discrete
You lack the air to fair compare, nor sit with the elite.
Yes, You, Sir, standing in an aspect too contrite
What fashionable words do you recite?
I say, by that display you sound as impotent by day as you perform at night.
Mark me, all those who see – Put out my eyes,
This snake that slips into your paradise;
And weave your lies, deceive – And on this eve I pray I live to see the light of day.
Pride that comes before a fall, inspires a man to crawl
Into a corner, least his name be brought to ridicule.
In wordplay oh, so cruel; best never play the fool
Least you be fast upon the mast, lambasted, and socially outcast.
Delusive words and conversations
To our armouries acquire – Schadenfreude like Chardonnay
So sweet to the taste but much drier.
Four garments and a ladder do not lead us blind
On through the garden; on the way a corpse we’ll find.
Augustan rhythms tenfold and quick-made cadence of the speech
Will bring to light those who you would expose.
But should the artist always draw yet truly what he perceives to see?
Or should he illustrate that what he knows?