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[ politicians and poets ] Those who steer the ship of state Are at it again, it seems their fate: Repeat and drone when on the air How much they feel, how much they care. The words are smooth, the words are bland They cloy in the mouth and stick on the hand: Include and share, as equals treat Be just and fair they us entreat. Their speech is vague, it is not clear Not for the mind, just please the ear. We scratch our head and touch our brow We wonder what they mean just now. We would prefer they told us plain How they feel, what is the game So that we’d know without a doubt Just what the whole thing is about. And if we tire of public speech Of those who to us only preach And search for words which meaning bear Provide us with some decent fare Then we decide that we should turn To those where verse is their concern. For here we find that words are weighed To shun all semblance of charade The lines are crafted brief and terse To render real this very verse. The masters here live on in lays Which show conviction of their ways: Though great in age and long in tooth They have for us the ring of truth.
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