> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hawkword.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Tyrant
- URL: https://www.hawkword.com/poetry/tyrant/
- Published: 2022-05-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-05-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Description: When reason is on trial and justice bends until it is the opposite of truth, and means adjust according to their ends and theater succeeds the voting booth -- What lies beneath the plastic of your smile, your practice...
- Author: A. Gee
- Tags: Poetry, Sonnet, Allpoetry Import, #Import 2026-04-25 19:56

When reason is on trial and justice bends  
until it is the opposite of truth,  
and means adjust according to their ends  
and theater succeeds the voting booth --  
What lies beneath the plastic of your smile,  
your practiced adlibs and impromptu rants?  
Too generous to call your nature guile;  
too dangerous to think adoring chants  
are not just what they are. Your acolytes  
are eager to accept whatever comes,  
as rhetoric descends from lower heights  
and rhythmic thumping beats words into drums.  
May terror fill your every waking moment,  
and sleep desert your bed. There’s no atonement.