The New Order Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

We hail you, Caesar!

The Legions massed in squares
before the sign of the new order

Shining helmets and rifle barrels
gleaming in the Mediterrean sun

Flags and leashed eagles on banners
proclaim the democratic peoples republic

A tall thin man in shirt and tie mounts
the podium - latest apotheosis of Caesar

Crowds salute with raised fists
No sceptics need apply here

(and yet, that shy, hesitant doubt takes root
here and there in the crowded streets -
is this what we fought and prayed for
in our years of need? this huckster in
a tailor-made suit uttering banalities?)

The crowds will have their way
with the inauguration of a new order -
auspicious as death and disorder!