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The Point
The Point, defined by geometry,
substantiates a theory:
position without magnitude.
Lest the point be misconstrued
consider how a politician,
lacking substance, has position.
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Petition for Riddance of a TV Celebrity
Disown her, Pheme, pity me and cleanse
my screen of this red-carpet-bagging naught.
Estrange her features from the obsequious lens;
return her to the crowd, unknown, unsought,
until she learns herself less glamorous,
more famous for celebrity than worth.
Expunge her practised smirk. Let cameras
find some other. Make her do some work.
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Poet’s Note: Pheme—in Greek tradition, the goddess, or at least the patroness, of tittle-tattle, scandal and, by extension, of “reality stars”, “fashion icons” and similar circus animals.
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Martin Briggs lives in Suffolk, England. He only began writing in earnest after retiring from a career in public administration, since when he has been published in various publications on both sides of the Atlantic.
That sums up some politicians and tv celebrities succinctly.
I love the “Petition for Riddance,” which is classic and up-to-date at the same time. I only wish the poet had revealed the identity of the insufferable TV celebrity whom he skewers.
But then again, Mr. Briggs lives in the U.K., where it is forbidden to bad-mouth anyone in public, even if what you say about them is perfectly true.
Might it be all of them, or any of them, or the one whose last appearance was most revolting? A gaggle of TV celebrities recently got together to sniff each other’s underwear and vote on whose smelled worst. I don’t know whether UK audiences were subjected to that, but, having heard about the incident (not watched it), I think the poem has to be about them. As it is, the poem can also speak for those who hadn’t seen or heard about that episode and thought the poem had to be about the one whose worst performance they remember.
There’s a lot of truth in both of these.
And I would like to nominate glamorous/cameras for the Rollicking Rhyme award!