Rudderless Leadership

Lawrence S. Pertillar 1947 (Connecticut)



Using the last remnants of common sense.
Can explain why truth to face and its reality,
Continues to be disbelieved.
Refused and blatantly ignored.

All aboard going down with a ship.
Remaining faithful and loyal,
To the obviousness...
Of its rudderless leadership.
And it known.
This movement began,
Emploding from within...
Minds detached; overwhelmingly fictioned.
Yet...
As a sea breeze whips,
Seriously tilting this sinking ship.
Leaning to raise together to hear click.
Are those on this ship sipping champagne.
Staying to prove a power to obtain,
Controls and rules.

But...
Over what?
Abandoned sandcastles?
Eventually destroyed by kept delusions?
Or the reality of high tides?

'What now should we do?
A powerful storm,
Seems to have ignored our celebration.
And texts messages sent,
To our beloved captain.
Sitting on his throne home alone.
Have stopped giving us directions.
Should we turn our backs to look away?'

'No!
Let us adorn our capes and warrior costumes.
Wave our swords.
And pretend we are brave heroes.
Like we have done many times before.'

'But...
We were then on shore.
Rehearsing our heroics.'

'And...
The difference is what?
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by lpahtillah on June 11, 2021

Modified on March 23, 2023

55 sec read
28

Quick analysis:

Scheme abbx cxacdxxbxxcxeex Ffagx xxhxhdgx xxxxi Fix xf
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,107
Words 189
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 15, 5, 8, 5, 3, 2

Discuss the poem Rudderless Leadership with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Rudderless Leadership" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/102509/rudderless-leadership>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    4
    days
    5
    hours
    52
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "No Man Is An Island"?
    A Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    B Robert Browning
    C Ezra Pound
    D John Donne