Pause For Poetry:
Michael Hawkes /65

Give a Man a Uniform

A poem by Michael Hawkes

A shiny badge and cap,
See a skinny chap transform
And watch him growing fat.

Or put him in a business suit
With a pin in his lapel.
Let him have authority
And watch his ego swell.

As soon as any man has power
It goes straight to his head,
He’ll build himself an ivory tower
And stay there ‘til he’s dead.

If only tyrants had the brains
To know that they can quit
The palaces and gravy trains
Without suffering a fit.

But no, that’s much too much
For humble folks to ask…
There’s no way that a simple touch
Can take these men to task.

They’ll exercise their right to kill,
To throw opponents under a bus,
Theirs the power and theirs the will
And what remains is up to us.

So let’s take away the uniforms,
Strip the leader’s suit;
Throw away the badges
And the lapel pins to boot…

Bring on the skin tight T shirts
And short shorts if they’re cute,
Or wear long beards and leotards…
In motley togs we’ll mingle
And find another route.

24/10/22 – Hawkes

Feature image: Pexels

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