On Governance
Man’s nature is to always congregate
In towns and cities hemmed around with walls
That keep him safe yet cannot stop the fate
Into which all communities must fall:
By tyrant’s sword or screaming mob’s desire
The peaceful days will ever end in fire.
Upon his throne a king or prince may sit
With knights and soldiers heeding his command
To keep the peace and force all to submit
And forge a single nation from his land
But, craving freedom, rebels will appear
And storm the castle gates with sharpened spear.
The crownèd head within his sturdy keep
May shut the door and throw the iron bolt
While royal swords pile bloody bodies deep
To guard his rule from popular revolt
But whether he finds vict’ry or defeat
The battle will turn sour what once was sweet.
When crowns are melted down to coins of gold
And cities rule themselves by equal vote
The greatest spoils will still go to the bold
Who bend the very rules their own hands wrote
And though they speak of man’s inherent worth
Give greater shares to those of higher birth.
The council’s rule and judge’s solemn oath
Should wrap the city in a single skin
Yet councillor and judge must look to both
Their duty to their city and their kin
And soon the bonds of family, faith, and guild
Will tear apart all that they sought to build.
Though one may try to build a perfect world
Where power is held tight or shared alike
The flags of conflict e’er will be unfurled
And flown from rebel spear or party pike
Upon the muddy road of discontent
Where all our years on this earth must be spent.
Yet hope remains though still the banners wave
For while the road is hard and full of turns
The middle ground ‘tween king and mob is paved
With sweat and tears and scars in battle earned
While steering the unsteady ship of state
Past tow’rs of war to peace’s distant gate.
Written in English sestet form on June 1, 2010.