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Leading Incompetence

Ludy Bührs

Wipe the smirk off your face,
you hypocrite that's here to take
just pretending that you share so much:
you've dropped mints for god's sake!

On a lesser merit than a meager dee
you came along but not to see.
Have you ever given it a single thought,
exchange of ideas might be what's sought?

Your smile is false, it's there for you
to miserly mask and just protect
the weight you've granted to yourself
by godforsaken disrespect.
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Submitted by ludy_b on August 25, 2013

Modified by ludy_b on April 26, 2021

25 sec read
126

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA BBCC XDXD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 417
Words 78
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Full analysis for Leading Incompetence »

Ludy Bührs

 · Amsterdam

The topics she writes about are very diverse, so are the poetry styles she applies. As a Dutch translator and poet, having lived in Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penh for 2.5 years, in 2008 she published "Op de ruïnes van een rijk" (On the Ruins of an Empire) ISBN 978-90-8834-483-1 with 60 poems based on her experiences there. In 2007 she received a Certificate of Accomplishment as one of The Best Poems and Poets of 2007 issued by poetry.com and the International Library of Poetry for her poem Choked Truth, her own translation of "Verstikte waarheid", one of the poems in the book. Born in 1956, she still works as an independent translator, translating from English into Dutch. more…

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1 Comment
  • ThembieAngieeMt
    ThembieAngieeMt
    This one has such a sharp, biting energy,I like how direct and unapologetic it feels. The rhythm and word choice really drive home the frustration, and that "dropped mints for god’s sake!" line is such a unique way to call someone out. It feels like you're confronting someone who pretends to engage but is really just taking up space. Really strong use of tone here. 
    LikeReply27 days ago

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"Leading Incompetence" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 16 Mar. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/76474/leading-incompetence>.

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