Jackals
By Keith Holyoak
The thousand-year dynasty will it flourish?
Last of the dragon line cracks the sky
He roars where storm clouds swell
Look to the heavens and remember
Kingdoms rise and fall
Lord Tang is gone the dragons guard
The palace gates no more
Cry out cry out at what is lost
What claims the dragon’s lair
The bloated tiger’s orange mat
Breeds lice and stinks of mange
His teeth are corpses gums leak drool
Behold his power and cringe
On those he rules the tiger feeds
All innocence turned foul
The jackals lick his shriveled balls
And imitate his howl
From Oracle Bones: Poems from the Time of Misrule (Goldfish Press, 2019) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43591601-oracle-bones a new form of political satire—the state of current American politics reimagined as a sequence of poetic warnings to a foolish and dissolute king who ruled back at the dawn of Chinese civilization. Lord Tang is the revered founder of the Shang dynasty, and the dragon is the symbol of a powerful protector. The bloated tiger is… He Who Shall Not Be Named. Oracle Bones is dedicated to the memory of Heather Heyer, murdered by a neo-Nazi while protesting their rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017. “If you’re not enraged, you’re not paying attention.”
The image of a lion, by Yaron Dotan, is taken from his animation “The Riddle of Samson”. The lion is about to be ripped apart.
Yaron Dotan lives in Los Angeles. To see more of his art work, visit www.yarondotan.com or instagram:yaron_dotan
Keith lives in California