PARDON ME, YOUR HONOR

Pardon me, Your Honor,
Ahmed Basha Bey
Appointee of the High Gate,
Illustrious Sultan of Istanbul
Paramount Leader of these vast dominions
From the Bosporus
Till the Great Rif Mountains,
I won’t preside over a hollow
Cardboard court;
I am, if it doesn’t ill-suit your Honor
Ill-suited to regurgitate my cue;
Theater, I have come to appreciate,
Is more of an aspiration
Than a carefully-staged rehearsal of reality.
If you be prosecutor and lawyer
And in every case, acting arbiter
Then retirement outside
The outer walls of the court
More befits the Audience and the Press corps.
The plaintiff, Ah! what the huck!
He already is in tune with the verdict;
He knows better than to think of theater as hope
For he, in tune with the audience,
Already carries his hearse.
Pardon me, Your Honor,
I won’t preside over a hollow
Cardboard court.