Ode to Tyrants - Fairy Tale Emperor s New Clothes

Tyrants of the world – tremble! Your time is nearly at an end.
Your throne is weaker than you think. I hear far-off thunder!
Feel the rumble, as a distant storm is clearly gathering strength
And your humble fallen slaves finally rise from their slumber.
They've seen through all your lies. Your time is almost spent.

We're told:
You may not criticise the pathetic evil tyrant,
Certainly you must never defy or humiliate him.
You are just there to serve. His loyal servants,
Humble slaves who are worshipping
The magnificent, almighty fascist emperor.
You must accept his unrighteous laws, approve his rules,
So don't protest, or say «make love, not war».
It doesn't exist. The war that is - and love withers.
He stays, he rules, forever, so he wishes, and enriches himself,
In the process, at your expense. But at least he’s content.
For now in fact, no one dares challenge or oppose
A nazi who thoroughly destroys and denies all dissent.
No qualms, no worries, no fears he shows
And yet what does he offer us in return?
An evil war that will outlast us all,
So only the poet is allowed to yearn
For lost love, for an ideal past he recalls,
When there was peace and we were free,
Expressing all our hopes and thoughts.
But now what exactly do we see?
A racist whose boasts are based on noughts.
No peace, no freedom, no future for us.
To our children, what was it he brought?
Something? Nothing. Only terror and a new holocaust.
Did he bring peace? No just fear in a handful of dust!

But tyrants tend to overestimate their power.
They think the nation will always rate them in awe,
Even when unrest begins, they underestimate how when
People turn, they find a way to eliminate them for sure.
 
Yet still there he stands, the crowned villain so proud,
As he’s cheered on by all his favoured criminal cronies,
Until a small excited child, almost lost in the crowd,
Dares to say what we’ve known for years and can clearly see,
Shouting, in a voice of sheer unconcealed delight aloud:

“He’s naked, a charlatan, he has no clothes.
Is this really our king, our tsar that you chose?
He thinks he could fool us and force us to see
Very fine things that are pure make-believe!”

You’re right, of course, we already know the truth,
But we’re lazy and sometimes turn a blind eye.
One person may expose the lies. Even show the proof.
That’s easy. But who will then depose the guy?

You need the whole nation on side and the military.
So yes, we all know it and of course we want to be free
To say what we want in an open modern democracy,
Choose different leaders and vote in new policies.”

“Then why do you continue to suck up to and worship
Such a guy in such a corrupt worthless dictatorship?”

Because, unlike you, we’re afraid to be seen
As the first one to step forward and only then find
Who said they were ready are now much too busy
Not able, too tired, too worried, too frightened.
In other words, they’ve just changed their mind.
So when push comes to shove, it isn’t so easy.
I’m all on my own.
To my desperate dismay, I suddenly find,
Despite all their love, they feel a bit queasy,
They’re still right behind me, but so far way behind,
Their words hide betrayal, their smiles fail to please me.

But at least I stood up, my own conscience is clear.
Did something - the right thing - and I had my say,
Dire consequences of protest, I may have feared,
Still can’t be worse than the best we face today.
Oh f***k!
Good luck!

© Самуил В. Новник 2023
© Samuel V. Novnik 2023