This Momentous Mummery
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
Well, I don't know. Maybe it's quite all right,
And maybe it is I who am perverse,
Finding in this unedifying sight
Mere mummery, and hearing but a blight
Of words and frowsty fustian - or worse
Maybe I'm wrong; and homosapiens yet,
Among the sentient, stays wise Nature's pet.
First the exordium, restrained and grim,
Stirring emotions, spreading subtle spells;
And then the swelling voice, the waving limb,
The flashing eye, the pep, the yells, the vim
The crashing peroration - and hell's bells! ...
Old stuff, so I was once led to suppose
Archaic stuff, and yet it goes, it goes.
Once Epictetus or - well, shall we say
Marcus Aurelius stirred in me a hope,
As reason grew and error fell away,
Giants might rise to lead us in our day
Out of this darkened maze in which men grope.
But now I know the man who gets that job
Is he who can spellbind the muddied mob.
But life's a paradox - Mayhap I'm wrong
In seeking guidance from the enlightened wise
Looking for leaders in the sanely strong
To spread sweet reason 'mid the puzzled throng
A paradox all men must recognise;
And it may be our world shall yet give thanks,
And owe salvation to its mountebanks.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 43 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAABCC DEDDEFF GHGGHII JXJJBXB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,140 |
Words | 214 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7, 7 |
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"This Momentous Mummery" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6792/this-momentous-mummery>.
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