English poem
A Demagogue
by Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
"Yawp, yawp, yawp! Under the moon and sun. It's aye the rabble, And I to gabble, And hey! for the tale that is never done.
"Chant, chant, chant! To woo the reluctant vote. I would I were dead And my say were said And my song were sung to its ultimate note.
"Stab, stab, stab! Ah! the weapon between my teeth-- I'm sick of the flash of it; See how the slash of it Misses the foeman to mangle the sheath!
"Boom, boom, boom! I'm beating the mammoth drum. My nethermost tripes I blow into the pipes-- It's oh! for the honors that never come!"
'Twas the dolorous blab Of a tramping "scab"-- 'Twas the eloquent Swift Of the marvelous gift-- The wild, weird, wonderful gift of gab!