Down With Fanatics!

Roger Woddis

 If I had my way with violent men
 I'd simmer them in oil,
 I'd fill a pot with bitumen
 And bring them to the boil.
 I execrate the terrorist
 And those who harbour him,
 And if I weren't a moralist
 I'd tear them limb from limb.

 Fanatics are an evil breed
 Whom decent men should shun;
 I'd like to flog them till they bleed,
 Yes, every mother's son,
 I'd like to tie them to a board
 And let them taste the cat,
 While giving praise, oh thank the Lord,
 That I am not like that.

 For we should love the human kind,
 As Jesus taught us to,
 And those who don't should be struck blind
 And beaten black and blue;
 I'd like to roast them in a grill
 And listen to them shriek,
 Then break them on the wheel until
 They turned the other cheek.

Commentary

My thanks to Marcus Bales, for suggesting (and introducing me to) today’s poem:

A delightfully sly poem; I love the way Woddis skewers both fanatics and the self-righteous hypocrites who would like to teach them a lesson. And he does it with such wicked relish… mmm, lovely.

— Thomas

Minstrels Links

We once ran a week of “hate rhymes”:
Poem #876, I Wish My Tongue were a Quiver – Louis McKay
Poem #877, I Do Not Love Thee, Dr Fell – Tom Brown
Poem #878, Frustration – Dorothy Parker

Other magnificent rants on the Minstrels include:
Poem #185, A Glass of Beer – David O’Bruadair
Poem #266, The Litany for Doneraile – Patrick O’Kelly
Poem #840, The Travellers’ Curse after Misdirection – Robert Graves


The Wondering Minstrels, poem #1049 · 8 May 2002

Guest poem submitted by Marcus Bales

Fair use