A Cheerless Dance Poem by Chris Jibero

Danger lurks
Although we front a deadpan visage
A mere manly mask
To whittle down fear
That tugs at our hearts
Relentlessly trying to pluck and seethe them
Into a searing sweet soup
A dumpling dinner for the few
At the corridor of power

My country is dancing like a clumsy drunk giant
At the edge of a predatory precipice
Overlooking a rapacious ravine
Strange tune played by her egocentric rulers
Wining and dining in the morning
On the table of insensitivity
And laughing to scorn
The masses benumbed by protracted pains
In this time and season
That breeds computer revolution
War without arms and ammunition

Alarmed, I stand
Praying that my beloved should not slip
And plunge headlong into the man-eating cavity
Waiting to dismember and consume her
Before she hits rock bottom
The wish of her detractors
Some of whom are her avaricious children
Moving fast to tip her over
As though their pitcher of perseverance has cracked
While tarrying at one spot for too long
To see her smash into smithereens
Having survived many other previous promptings.

(c) Chris Jibero. 09/01/2012.