A False Prophecy

Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)



Dom Pedro, Emperor of far Brazil
(Whence coffee comes and the three-cornered nut),
They say that you're imperially ill,
And threatened with paralysis. Tut-tut!
Though Emperors are mortal, nothing but
A nimble thunderbolt could catch and kill
A man predestined to depart this life
By the assassin's bullet, bomb or knife.

Sir, once there was a President who freed
Ten million slaves; and once there was a Czar
Who freed five times as many serfs. Sins breed
The means of punishment, and tyrants are
Hurled headlong out of the triumphal car
If faster than the law allows they speed.
Lincoln and Alexander struck a rut;
_You_ freed slaves too. Paralysis-tut-tut!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
128

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABBACC DEDEEDBB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 651
Words 112
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. more…

All Ambrose Bierce poems | Ambrose Bierce Books

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