Down With Fanatics!
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