The Demagogue

The eyes of all the people turned to him,
As if expecting something quite profound;
But he had nothing in him but the dim
And anxious feel that none of it was sound.
So first he called for God to bless the crowd,
A classic start that gave him time to think,
And then he swelled his chest, got very loud,
Found wind, set sail – today he wouldn’t sink.
Each day he put his life upon the line
To please the mob he hated – one and all;
Although he told them they were very fine,
Their enemies were not, and so his call
For absolute destruction of the slime;
He’d get this bleating mob some other time.