Are these the honors they reserve for me,
Chains for the man who gave new worlds to Spain!
Rest here, my swelling heart! — O kings, O queens,
Patrons of monsters, and their progeny,
Authors of wrong, and slaves to fortune merely!
Why was I seated by my prince's side,
Honor'd, caress'd like some first peer of Spain?
Was it that I might fall most suddenly
From honor's summit to the sink of scandal?
'T is done, 't is done! — what madness is ambition!
What is there in that little breath of men,
Which they call Fame, that should induce the brave
To forfeit ease and that domestic bliss
Which is the lot of happy ignorance,
Less glorious aims, and dull humility? —
Whoe'er thou art that shalt aspire to honor,
And on the strength and vigor of the mind
Vainly depending, court a monarch's favor,
Pointing the way to vast extended empire;
First count your pay to be ingratitude,
Then chains and prisons, and disgrace like mine!
Each wretched pilot now shall spread his sails,
And treading in my footsteps, hail new worlds,
Which, but for me, had still been empty visions.
Philip Freneau, "Columbus in Chains"
1 comment:
________ ANTHEM of PRAISE to a SECULAR SAINT ________
Hillary Rodham Clinton is more saintly than Joan of Arc and Mother Teresa combined. She has devoted her entire adult life fulfilling her cgildhood dreams of serving the needs of those less fortunate, especially WOMEN, CHILDREN, and those AFFLICTED with DREAD DISEASES.
She has sacrificed every opportunity with her fancy Ivy League law degree to capitalize on her fine education. Instead of joining a prestigious Eastern Elite Law Firm and making millions of dollars helping fat cats grow fatter by screwing the little people, and grinding their heels into the necks of the poor, this gallant lady has instead played the role of a modern missionary reaching deep into the ghettos, the factories and the farms pouring unstintingly from her bottomless Wellspring of Compassion to aid low level workers in their desperate struggle against Institutionalized Oppression by their heartless, cruel, greedy, selfish, insensitive, creepy Capitalist employers.
Instead of being persecuted by the mean-spirited Reactionary Racist Right Wing with trumped up stories that claim malfeasance on her part, this noble, selfless, endearing woman should be IDOLIZED, REVERED, LIONIZED and yes ––– CANONIZED.
If anyone has ever deserved to be called a SAINT, surely it must be that vision of loveliness, that tower of ivory, that paragon of virtue, that mystical rose, that overwhelming fount of wisdom, warmth, compassion, sweetness and boundless generosity, surely it must be the Next President of the United States of America, HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON.
Now get down on your knees, bow your head, Sing Hosanna, Give three Cheers, and shout VIVAT! VIVAT! VAGINA!!!
~ Calvin Compost, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Caramba University
Post a Comment