Palinode in Advance
(Palinode: a poem of retraction)
Our glorious leader is handsome,
and he sings well,
and his excrement smells like jasmine.
Our glorious leader is nine feet tall,
but he makes himself smaller for our comfort.
Who has more brains than our glorious leader?
He need not bother with books. Without study or thought
he corrects the errors of doctors, historians, artists, educators and architects.
Our glorious leader is about to speak! Everyone in the world trembles.
He can make fortunes vanish with a casual phrase.
Our glorious leader has spoken.
People ask, astonished, Was that a joke?
No, our glorious leader has no use for humor.
He is as serious as a plague.
His words surpass the understanding of mundane minds.
All praise our glorious leader!
May he live ten thousand years.
— Ian Erinson
15 April 2025
(NaPoWriMo 2025 Day 15)