Cat o' Nine Tails

(Thank you, SweetOblivion!)

*

Every Sunday the king
will have the fools whipped
before a cheering audience of

respectable burghers
in their gladrags – the best
places go for a hand-

ful of pounds. Gawking, their
mouths drooling, they stand
looking on, the tradesmen,

farmers, civil servants, fond
fathers and mothers all in
for the fun: a couple of

flaming idiots whipped on
the scaffolding. You can
tell their madness by

their foolscaps and the pens
they carry. They try to
live by their wits, and so

they have their tails done
in fierce red stripes, welts
that serve them right. Here

In our kingdom of truth
The image is suspect,
The simile wrong… Fools!