The Instigator Poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

The Instigator

The sky over Europe is silent, but there is fear
In the heart of many and the man who started
this fear is sleepless and swims slowly in his
swimming pool.
He is seventy now and struggles with his body
wears trousers too tight, sits wide-legged
giving the impression of rugged good health
as doctors tell him, as he is fearful of dying.
Thoughts swivel in his mind; he is isolated
and suspicious of people indifferent
of his view on how the world should be run.
A lackey enters tell of news from the front.
This lift, his spirit he swims faster now, sleep
eludes him, knows he will awake with a gnawing
sense he might be wrong.