Thread: The Golden Parachute

Gruesome greed
with gilded teeth
snaps and shreds
unwitting hands.

Flies its prize
to lair to feast
but fails to find
a place to land.

Bloated giants
rise to gorge
on remnants
from the beast,

fed by hand
from father George
stripped skinless
from the least,

who stare,
the horror to behold,
starving dying
all around.

A parachute
of solid gold
comes crashing
to the ground.


Thought I'd post one from a little while ago. If it looks familiar, it could be because I had it posted on another site.

Gruesome greed
with gilded teeth
snaps and shreds
unwitting hands.

Purely and simply marvelous! Excellent alliteration and brutal imagery.

fed by hand
from father George
stripped skinless
from the least,

I will say that this threw me off.

remnants
from the beast

Van, it may be just me but I think you need to flesh out who or what the beast is without telling us. Just show a little bit more.

Over all, I loved this poem. And it's ending it's worth the price in gold! Laurie

Bear with me for a moment ... lol Have you ever read the chorus verses in the tale of Prometheus ? I can imagine a Greek classical chorus orating this on the White House lawn.

very good read

Vangothsear! Nice to read some of your work again. It's been a while. My username is different as I couldn't remember my old password.

Nice piece, I like its simplicity.

Originally Posted by MaggieG

Bear with me for a moment ... lol Have you ever read the chorus verses in the tale of Prometheus ? I can imagine a Greek classical chorus orating this on the White House lawn.

Ha! I just reread a few passages (it had been years). Yeah that would be interesting.

Thanks for that. (my chanting chorus)

Silvermoon, I'll think about your suggestions. To explain a little, Father George was George W. Bush (yeah it's been awhile since this was written). The beast is simply the economy, or more closely, the ways that the greedy can profit in a bad economy, such as huge bonuses made with bailout money. The least are the taxpayers. The newspapers called the bailout "W" proposed and President Obama implemented the "Golden Parachute."

StephenMcG thanks, I saw the name and figured it was you. Good to read you too.

Gone, but never to be forgotten, unfortunately. It may be a bit dated, but I got it without a problem and found it incredibly clever. In addition, you duly sated my addiction to alliteration. My day is not complete without my fix. The image of that golden parachute crashing down is stellar, too bad certain people weren't beneath it. Your spartan style succeeds once again. Much enjoyed, Van.

Loved it Van!

I like the way it reads. Definitely has a good rhythm to it.

You could easily make this timeless by reworking the George line. The sentiment transcends, and the term golden parachute has been part of business vernacular for good while. And as you mentioned, the bailouts were implemented by the current administration. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

I think it works well, even if it is a little heavy-handed. Good job.

Thanks JosephB, I might rework the "George line." That is a good suggestion to help make it more timeless, which is an element I like to have in my poems..