.

Wisdom and Sway

Life was tranquil and calm, not a care, not a qualm,
in a town not too near you, but not far away.
It was led by a mayor, a powerful player,
a grandiose mayor with wisdom and sway.

We’d always considered the sky to be blue.
It seemed like a perfectly fine point of view.
Then the mayor decreed, in a manner routine:
“According to science, the sky is now green.”

His Council, like trumpets, all praised the decree.
They knew the town’s tabloid would surely agree.
He said to the Council, “We must have compliance.
We can’t let the citizens challenge the science.”

He ordered all statues of “blue sky” adherents
be toppled and chopped up, the scrap sold on clearance.
He said the song “Blue Skies” would henceforth be spurned,
the sheet music brought to the town square and burned.

But claims of a blue sky continued to smolder.
Objections to “science” became ever bolder.
The obstinate mayor said, “I’ll shut them down!”
He built a huge canopy over the town.

To ensure that the blue sky would never be seen,
he painted the canopy’s underside green.
“The doubters,” he said, “will be put to the test.
Suspicion and rumors will be laid to rest!”

A glitch soon appeared in the canopy plan.
The town didn’t see that a blizzard began.
It dumped half a foot on the township below.
The canopy caved from the weight of the snow.

The warmth of the wintertime sun reappeared.
The townspeople shoveled. The streets were all cleared.
They smirked when the mayor’s approach went awry.
Above them again was the gleaming blue sky!

The Council was silent, its fealty in doubt.
The mayor was frantic and so he cried out:
“Where are my trumpets? Where is my science?
How will I ever defeat this defiance?”

And so life carries on—every dusk turns to dawn—
in a town not too near you, but not far away.
It’s led by a mayor—a now humbled player—
a grandiose mayor with wisdom and sway.

.

.

Mark F. Stone worked as an attorney (active duty and civil service) for the United States Air Force for 33 years and is retired. He began writing poems in 2005, as a way to woo his bride-to-be into wedlock. His poems have been published by Light, The Ohio Poetry Association, The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry, the Society of Classical Poets, Whatfinger News, Ric Edelman’s The Truth About Your Future podcast, and the Seeking Alpha Alpha Picks podcast.

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The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


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18 Responses

  1. Cynthia Erlandson

    What a fun story — it had me smiling all the way through, Mark! And your use of anapestic meter, combined with couplets (except for the bookends of first and last verse) were part of the perfect vehicle to convey humor. I hope that no citizens were smothered by the canopy when it came down. And I wish that more grandiose mayors would be humbled. I know of a mayor and town council not at all far away that remind me of this one.

    Reply
  2. Mark Stellinga

    A very clever & ‘happy-ending’ piece, Mark, and one that reminds me of once having been in the same situation as your bio points out you once were. I hope yours worked out better than this poet’s – 🙂

    Poetry Wasn’t Enough

    Remember how Daffodil Finnigan
    Swore she would never begin-again
    Loving a man,
    So she constantly ran
    From men – so’s not to fall-in-again!

    Well… into her life walked a poet
    Who dug her, and – meaning to show it –
    But easy-to-hate –
    (And weigh over-wait) –
    To bolster his chance to not blow it –

    Plied her with poetry – sending his best –
    Some very poignant – others in jest –
    He wooed her with verse
    ‘Til she deemed him a curse –
    Then she sued him – for being a pest!

    Reply
    • Mark F. Stone

      Mark, Happily, poetry made something happen, in my case. I’m glad you like my poem. Yours is clever, too! Mark

      Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson

    You built a great lesson into this fine poem about leaders who mislead and lie. Seems familiar to me!

    Reply
  4. Julian D. Woodruff

    Clever narrative and rhymes, too, Mark. The line beginning “The town didn’t see …” threw me a bit; would you consider something like “”None had foreseen it: …”

    Reply
    • Mark F. Stone

      Julian, I always welcome constructive criticism. I will mull over your intriguing suggestion. Thank you! Mark

      Reply
  5. Margaret Coats

    I have read this very enjoyable poem before. Mark, did you previously publish it (or an earlier version), under another title, or place it in Comments? Any change to reflect greater brightness with less political blueness? Good to have it appear now.

    Reply
    • Mark F. Stone

      Margaret, I’m not sure how you read the poem, since it’s never been published in print or online until today. But I’m glad that you enjoyed it! Mark

      Reply
  6. Paul A. Freeman

    A fun piece with political overtones. Indeed, we can learn from leaders who become tyrannical, though usually there is purpose behind their edicts. I’ve heard religious leaders claim that AIDS does not affect the faithful, and that polio vaccines (when the disease was nearly eradicated worldwide) were a trick of the West to make non-Westerner children infertile. I’ve seen names of roads, cities, bodies of water even, changed to fit in with political agendas and self-aggrandisement (Robert Mugabe Road still stretches across Zimbabwe).

    Your poem, Mark, is more akin to the Emperor’s New Clothes, where a population agrees to a blatant untruth out to fear, misplaced loyalty, friendship even, in the face of the true facts (but these days, who’s true facts?).

    Thanks for a poignant, timely read.

    Reply
  8. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    I’m with James. This is most certainly a parable for our times. I love it when art highlights the idiocy we are force-fed daily – and you have shone a glaring spotlight in a well-crafted and highly entertaining poem on all that goes wrong when science and governments are intrinsically linked. Thank you very much indeed, Mark.

    Reply
  9. Susan Rives

    I truly enjoyed this. Your choice of meter was perfect for describing the complexities (and absurdities) of this modern-day dilemma while keeping the tone light-hearted. Well done!

    Reply

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