Quagtalk
or Liberal by Definition This is the solid-looking quagmire The bright-green ground that tempts the tread And lets you down into despond.
Enough consistence to conform, Enough form to yield to pressure, Enough force to wink at a fraud.
Unbiased between good and evil: The slander's only what they're told, The harm something they didn't mean—
They only breathe what's in the air, They have certified-pure motives, So pure as to be quite transparent.
They are immune. Are innocent. They can never be convicted, They have no record of convictions.
This poem really needs a chorus Spoken in dialect by the drowned Who live like frogs and have learned quagtalk : 'On the one hand this, on the other hand that, Having regard to, I heard for a fact, What one would want to say about this is, That's not my point, and where are we at.'
JAMES MCAULEY
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