The Façade Deceives Us Very Often… Poem by Janri Gogeshvili

Instead of a pamphlet

You look at him,
And he’s a man,
A real knight…
A member of the senate,
Very handsome…
But isn’t upright.
He’s very petty,
Not better than a goat,
A flock of sheep
Which is leading…
That man resembles a man,
But his thoughts are so piddling!

You look at him,
And he’s a man,
A true knight,
But he’s unworthy,
Narrow-minded,
And light.
His mind bears
The stamp of folly,
Vain ideas are drummed
Into his head;
His ideas are out of date,
Worn-out, rusted,
And patched…

You look at him,
And he’s a man,
A real knight,
But he barks
At reason…
Isn’t upright.
He praises
His old master’s fables.
In a nutshell, he’s a fool.
Now you can see
That appearance, at times,
Is very, very deceitful.

1O.O2.2OO1.

Translated from Georgian